The Stopher Family

Baby Love!!

2011-11-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

I once again am in the throws of nausea thanks to a little peanut growing away in my belly. The kids are excited, although Caleb has decided he only wants a little brother and wants us to not keep it if it is a girl. The mind of a four-year-old! :) Whenever we say to Amelia, "Where's the baby?" her usual response is "Don't know." But now she enthusiastically says, "In Mommy!!" She is growing into such a cutie. We love how she runs into our room ever morning with her sqeaky high voice saying, "Mommy? Daddy? Hi!! Hi!!" Natalie just keeps asking, "Baby's coming out now?" She doesn't quite understand how long it takes for the baby to grow. We are overjoyed to be adding to our family and can't wait to meet this newest member around June 19th 2012.

Going to the Chapel!

2011-11-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

One afternoon in October, Caleb and Natalie decided to get all dressed up so they could get married. Here are their "wedding" pictures.

Silence.

2011-09-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

You've probabl notice by now that my blogging is rather inconsistant. Sorry for that. Life gets in the way with my three little munchkins! Here are some pictures I recently took of my beauties.

Oh the places I've been...

2011-05-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

It has been one of "those" weeks. A week where lots goes wrong and yet I am still alive! It all started when I pulled my external hard drive out of the back office and out to the living room to attempt to back it up onto another hard drive. But of course, tragedy struck and it was knocked off the table and the main motor failed. So here I have ten years of my life in pictures, not backed up, and seemingly lost forever! Since then, I found a place that can recover my data, as long as the head did not scratch the disk too badly. So although it is extremely spendy, I am hopeful to once again have baby pictures of my three children, pictures from my honeymoon, and many moments in between.

I also had my oven spark, catch on fire, and short out. The bright side is that it is time to upgrade to that gas range we've been wanting! The down side is the very unexpected cost and a limited ability to cook. So, my yogurt has been put on hold, as well as many other cooking adventures. I will be back in the swing once our new range arrives in a couple of weeks.

Until then, it is spring cleaning time around our house. I gutted and re-organized the pantry yesterday and plan to attack the upstairs play room this morning. Happy May Day!

In the Meantime...

2011-04-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Because I have been to busy lately, I have not been able to complete the yogurt making. So I thought that I would share a great new recipe with you that our family loved. It comes from the "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook and is good as a side dish or light lunch.

Rice and Carrot Casserole

Ingredients:

2 Cups organic brown rice

2 Tbl. butter

2 Tbl extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

4 whole cloves

3 cardamom pods (or a pinch of dried if it's all you've got)

grated rind of 1 lemon

4 cups of chicken stock

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

In a heavy flame proof casserole (I used my cast iron enamel pot), melt butter and olive oil. Open cardamom pods and add seeds to casserole (or a pinch of dried cardamom) along with thyme, cloves, lemon rind, and onion. Saute until onion is soft. Add rice and saute until milky, a couple of minutes. Pour in stock, add salt and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in carrots and raisins. Boil, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes until the water has reduced to the level of the rice. Reduce the flame to lowest heat, cover tightly and cook for at least 2 hours or as long as 3 hours. Do not remove the lis during cooking.

Serve as a side dish to whole roasted chicken (I used it with my beer can chickens) or other mildly seasoned meat. I was thinking this would probably be really yummy with grilled kabobs, too. I ate the leftovers in a fresh corn tortilla and it was a great lunch!

Enjoy!

The Yogurt Adventure

2011-04-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

I tried a few soaked grain recipes! Among the successes are pancakes, sourdough bread (of course!!), yogurt herb bread, and banana bread (the recipe I shared previously). My one failure has been waffles that were chewy inside, yuck! Now I am focusing on making better choices with the dairy my family consumes. We love milk. For several years I have been desiring to have only unhomogenized whole milk in our house. I would REALLY love raw. But unfortunately, raw milk is illegal to sell or buy in the state of Idaho. I recently found a dairy that provides organic, grass-fed, low temp pasteurized milk. So I decided to bite the bullet and pay $3.25 per HALF gallon for it. But I look at it this way...Homogenization changes the fat particles so that our body no longer recognizes them for what they are. So they clog our arteries! The powdered nonfat milk added to skim milk for flavor is just as bad! The cost is worth the investment in my family's health. Also, we love yogurt. Can I say that again? We LOVE yogurt! Our kids have yogurt every night before bed, we drink it in our smoothies, and use it to bread our oven "fried" chicken among many other uses. But the yogurt I have found to be the most healthy among all the grocery store options (no powdered skin milk, full fat, and low added sugar) is $2.88 a quart. That comes to $11.52 a gallon! Talk about expensive. And I am compromising some of my desires, since the one yogurt that meets all my basic criteria is not organic, is pasteurized, and also made with cream which makes it 18g of fat per serving! So, I have decided to jump ship on store bought yogurt. At a price of $6.50 a gallon, I can make my own yogurt with that yummy unhomogenized, organic, grass-fed milk! Way less expensive. So, there is even a cost savings along with this health benefit, which is even more motivation to try it.
On the docket for tomorrow: Home Made Yogurt. Here I go. Wish me luck. I'll take some pictures and report back in a day or two.

Grain Soaking

2011-04-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a new cookbook called "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. Well, it's actually more of a textbook. Sally Fallon makes a lot of out-of-the box claims about diet and nutrition and backs it all up with case studies from cultures around the world. One of the claims she makes is that the grains we eat were meant to be soaked, or fermented, before being eaten. Soaking the grain in buttermilk, yogurt or other cultured milk, breaks down the phytic acid contained in the bran (or outer layer) of the grain. This increases the vitamin content of the grain and makes the nutrients it contains more available when digested. I have been playing around with my favorite banana bread recipe to try and make it a soaked grain recipe. I think I have come up with a formula that works quite well. So I thought I'd share it with you so you can try it if you'd like.

Ingredients:

1/2 C plain yogurt with active cultures (I use Nancy's)
1/4 C water
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour/spelt
1/4 C butter, softened
2/3 C raw honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 C ripe mashed bananas
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Combine flour, water and yogurt in a medium bowl. Leave in warm place for 12-24 hours to soak (On your kitchen counter will work fine).

After soaking grains: Mix butter, eggs, honey and vanilla until creamy. Add bananas and cinnamon and mix well. Add soda, salt and flour/yogurt mixture. Mix until combined. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until toothpick comes out clean and thermometer reads 195 degrees.

Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes or so. Turn out on a cooling rack and allow to finish cooling completely. The bread will be very moist.

Breaking the Silence

2011-04-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

I suppose some catch-up is in order. I'll start with the snowy Idaho winter. This winter has been filled with many mornings of snow, some angel-making, sledding, and even a trip to the tubing hills of the Magic Mountain Ski Resort. Cue pictures...

We've learned to love Idaho, and on a recent trip back to Oregon, really missed it! Even Caleb told us that he wished he could go back "home". Yup. Idaho finally feels like home. And how nice it is to be home.

Comics

2011-02-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

Amelia's 1st

2011-01-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from a little get together we had with some friends for Amelia's first birthday. It was a fun time of eating cake and hanging out!

Winter Wonderland

2010-11-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

It appears that fall turned into winter overnight here in Idaho! I still haven't posted our raking pictures from a couple weeks ago, but couldn't resist putting up these snow pictures. This is the first big snow that the kids (especially Caleb and Natalie) have seen since going to Sun River a couple years ago. The first snow fell about a week and a half ago, just a dusting that went away quickly, but the kids had to go out and run in it anyway. Then we got a real dumping, a total of about 6-8 inches over two days time, this week. So here are some fun pictures of the kids enjoying the snow. Amelia doesn't have any snow clothes, so she's been hanging out in the kitchen with mom, helping get hot chocolate ready. :)

These are a Few of My Favorite (Kitchen) Things...

2010-10-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

I figure it is about time for another kitchen related post. I haven't posted much about my cooking adventures lately. However, my kitchen is always in action. Since I stay home, I make just about every meal from scratch. The only convenience foods we eat occasionally are cereal and Annie's Mac & Cheese or other such lunch foods. That being said, there are three kitchen appliances that have revolutionized the way I am able to prepare food for my family. I have, over the last seven and a half year of marriage been able to collect these items, one by one. So don't be intimidated, as they are also the most pricey items in my pantry. But with some saving (almost eight years!!) it can be done. :) That being said, let me introduce you to my favorite three kitchen appliances and tell you why I love them.

First up is my Kitchenaid Mixer. We received it as a wedding gift and it is still around and kickin' like the day I pulled it out of the box. I can not begin to count all of the things I have made in this. From whipped cream to cake/cookie batter, to mashed potatoes. I also received the grinder and shredder attachments, but don't really use them very often as I think they are a bit difficult to clean. I also love to make my own bread, especially artisan garlic bread (and soon sourdough after a class next month!), and this is the perfect tool as I can use the dough hook and not have to knead it at all by hand. I'd say my mixer comes out of the pantry at least four times a week, often more.

The second kitchen appliance near and dear to my kitchen heart is the Cuisinart Food Processor. I have the Pro Custom 11, which is the big boy, thanks to a great sale at Macy's a couple of years ago at Christmas time. This thing is perfect for making pizza dough, pie crust, streudel toppings, pumpkin puree, dicing veggies, or even shredding cheese. My husband has a soft spot for Costco muffins and loves to take one for a snack at work. Well, I figure that it is much less expensive, and healthy since I use whole wheat, to make my own. Using the mixer above for the batter and this food processor for the topping, I can make his favorite pumpkin muffins with a flax seed streudel topping. And I can even make my own puree with the food processor, and not have to buy canned pumpkin! This year I was able to get pie pumpkins for .10 a pound. And each pound of raw pumpkin makes about a cup of puree. So that is 10 cups of puree for a dollar, what a bargain! And for his birthday today, I made a breakfast quiche. Instead of buying the $3 roll out pie crusts, I just made my own for around .35, and I have an extra crust in the freezer because the recipe makes a top and bottom! I definately think the kitchenaid is worth it's weight in my kitchen and I pull it out of the pantry at least four times a week.

The final item in my kitchen is the newest, as we just found it last week. It is the Blendtec blender. My old blender got a crack in the bottom and was starting to leak, so we jumped when we found this Blendtec at Costco. This thing will make smoothies at the push of a button, applesauce with the skins left on for fiber, soup (heats it up and everything!), and will even grinds whole grains. SOOO, now I can fresh grind whole wheat to use in my baking! This is something I have desired to do for several years, but have not had an appliance that would do it. I have only made about 20 things in it the past week, but really love it so far and look forward to experimenting with fresh whole grain flours, soups and smoothies.

So there you have it. The three kitchen appliances that are acutally worth their weight and space in the pantry.

Fall Festivities

2010-10-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

I love fall. I love the cool, crisp mornings and evenings, the beautiful golden hues found on trees and in the fields. The fall inspires me to get up early to make eggnog lattes for my husband, and drink hot tea every morning. My house is filled with yummy aromas because I get in the mood to bake sweet breads and muffins; And, best of all, big pots of soup that bubble away on the stove or in the crockpot all day. I like to get up with the kids and sit in front of the fireplace all snuggled together watching cartoons. I just love fall. One of the other things I love about fall is going to the pumpkin patch. We took the kids last night, and it was so much fun! We took a hay ride out the the pumpkin field where Caleb picked out way too many pumpkins and lined them up on the hay trailer. Amelia experienced her first taste of fresh plum (and ate a whole one!) and Nattie love running around the hay maze. It is great being a parent and watching my children experience the things I loved, too, as a kid. Yes, I love fall.

Two

2010-10-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

It seems as if I should have a good excuse for the silence over the past month, but I don't. Just the normal stuff, three little kids, a husband, and a home to care for have contributed to my lack of posting. So here is a little peek into our wonderful birthday "bash" we had for Nattie. Our dear sweet girlie turned two a few weeks ago and we had a very nice evening at home celebrating as a family. It was a much welcomed change from the usual big parties we've had in the past. Daddy brought home a bouquet of balloons and I made a strawberry cake (fresh strawberry cream filling and whip ceam icing, it tasted like strawberry shortcake!). Then, we skyped with family in Oregon for the opening of her presents. It was relaxed and we had a nice, small, mess at the end. :) Nattie's birthday marks the beginning of the birthday season for our family. So now begins the marthon to Aunt Shell's birthday on New Year's with six birthdays in between. In the meantime, here is the photo documentation of the day:

Fasting and Feasting

2010-08-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

I am going to take a small break from Proverbs 31 and share a really neat experience our family had this week. We are part of a great small group here in our new home-town. They have been a great encouragement to us since moving here. However, many of the families are in a time of transition; opposite to us, they are moving away. One family for school, another to learn about church planting, and another for career. Other families are trying to decide if this is where they should remain, or if they should move back to their home-towns, to the mission field, etc. It is had to have just made all these friends, only to lose them! But we are all still together for a few more weeks. And in this time of transition, many of the details are hanging as loose ends. Homes need to be sold, arrangements made, God's will heard, and more. Having just gone through a big move, our family understands these anxieties. So the group came up with an idea. We would fast. And pray. And take time to be still before the Lord. We made a list of all the prayer requests and it was e-mailed around. Each family chose either Sat or Sun to fast and pray. We would then come together on Tuesday for a meal together and talk of what the Lord had done through our time.

I must admit, it was a bit awkward at first. Neither Jason nor I had really fasted before. We weren't sure what to do exactly. But as our tummies grew hungrier, we realized those pains reminded us that we should be hungering after God as much as we were for food in those moments. We put all the kids down for naps and sat down to pray together. It was a great time of prayer, one of the best we've experenced as a couple! It was a great time of lifting up friends and family to the Lord.

I think one of the things that felt the best was the sense of community we all had. Here was our entire group, although not together physically, we were together spiritually. All of us on a personal quest to hunger after God and His will for our lives. It was a time of trusting, and releasing control. Of letting all our concerns and fears go, and taking hold of the peace that only HE can bring! It was a sweet feast we had on Tuesday. We filled our tummies together and spoke of all the things we'd learned during our time of fasting. So fasting and feasting. That was our week. And an amazing one it was!

Proverbs 31:14-15 - Food!

2010-08-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 31:14-15 "She is like merchant the ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls."

First off, where are my servant girls? Haha, don't I wish for the help! These verses demonstrate the woman's responsbility in her home to provide nourishment for her family. Here she is going out and negotiating good food for her family to eat. In the context of that culture, it probably meant she was using things she had made to trade for food to save her family money. In today's culture, I can also negotiate food for my family through shopping the sales and using coupons, always getting the best price for the items we need. Also, the fact that she is bringing in food from afar may indicate that the food is from other cultures. I suppose it is a good thing to have a varied diet and provide your family with many types of food, not just the same ol' routine.

Not only does a virtuous woman bring the food into the home, she also gets up early to begin her day and prepare the food. This is a hard one for me! My husband gets up to get ready for work, and I often sleep in until the children get up. I know that my day should start "while it is still dark". Not so literally, I take this to mean, before the hustle and bustle begins in the household. It is important to take time each morning to begin in prayer alone with our heavenly Father. This is something I have wanted to have the discipline to accomplish regularly, but have not yet done. In addition, we are to prepare food for our family. I know my husband does not necessarily want a full hot breakfast every morning, but he has expressed how much he loves it when I get up with him and make his lunch for him to take to work.

So I ask myself: Am I doing a good job bringing food into my home? Am I doing all that I can to try and negotiate the best price for a wide variety of foods? What can I do better with regard to getting up and spending quiet time with the Lord in the morning? How does my routine need to change to fulfill the Lord's desire that I am preparing food for my family each morning?

Rear-Ended

2010-07-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I wrote this back in April, just after we had moved. I found it in the drafts and realized I hadn't posted it because I was waiting to make sure insurance was all worked out for liability sake and all. So better late then never, here is the account of when the kids and I were rear-ended by a semi.

It has been an exciting month for us. From hospitals to moving and now a car accident to top it off! Two days ago, (April 20) I was out running errands and had just finished up at the last stop, Costco, and was headed home. Halfway home, I was stopped at a red light getting ready to turn when I heard a huge crash from the back of the vehicle. My flip flops flew off my feet and it took a few moments to realize my car was moving. I was so stunned that I had a hard time finding the brake pedal. It's funny what goes through your mind in those moments, and my first thought as I was dumbfoundedly groping with my foot for the brake was, "my brake pedal is gone!" I then turned my head to see what had hit me, saw a flat-bed semi and the driver had a crazy look on his face. Must have been him. Things seem to go in slow motion and it seemed like forever before I found the brake. Once I did, I stopped just off of the road on the far side of the intersection and turned around to look at the kids. I asked Caleb if he was ok, since he could tell me yes or no, and he said "yes". I asked if he was hurting anywhere and he said, "No". I told him to just stay there (like he could move, he was strapped in!) and got out. The truck driver pulled off the road just ahead of me and came running over. He said, "I'm sorry, my brakes wouldn't work!" Then he looked in my SUV and saw all the kids. He started shaking and rambling, "Should I call the police, yeah, I should call the police! Are they all ok? Well, we have good insurance. Oh, I'm so sorry." Then he got on his cell and called the police. I took a second to find my cell phone, which had flown onto the floor and come apart. I put it back together and called Jason to tell him I had been in an accident, he said he'd come. Later he told me his first thought was, "this better not be her fault!" Haha. Thanks for the confidence, hunny! When the police arrived they gave me some paperwork to fill out and asked if anyone was hurt. I realized my back was hurting a bit, so the kind police man offered to call an ambulance. I ended up going in the ambulance to the hospital with Amelia just to make sure my back was ok. Jason brought the other kids and met us there. My car was towed off the scene to be assessed for damages. So the long and the short of it is this, my back is quite sore, but the kids all seem to be fine (praise the Lord!!). Here are some cell phone pictures of our SUV. The green truck parked in front is the one that hit me.

Current Update:
We are all seemingly ok! My SUV had about $10,000 in damages but was repaired and seems good as new (amazing what good autobody shops can do!). My back has been doing ok, and the kids never showed any signs of injury. The Lord is good! During the time my SUV was in the shop, we had a rental van, and actually loved it. So I think now we are going to try and replace Jason's car with a van someday thanks to an extended "trial run" with one.

Proverbs 31:13 - She Works With Eager Hands

2010-07-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 31:13 "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands."

As I read this, I feel empowered! Wait, empowered you may ask? Yes! Here the woman is "selecting" her wool. This means the decision is hers! Since, as we learned before, her husband is able to trust her and because her interest is in his good, she is given responsibility. This responsibility is to select (and I am assuming purchase) things her family needs. In this case, she is finding clothing materials for her family. Woohoo! So if I don't like that one shirt my husband is always wearing (not true, just an example), then I can go buy him a new one! Hold up. I don't think that is what this verse is saying, nor would it be responsible or caring. If my hubby likes his shirt, and if it is decent, then it would be a waste of our money and possibly hurtful of his feelings to replace it. Instead, we need to keep in mind that I am only given the freedom here because I am trusted and my husband knows I have his best interest in mind. Equally so, when I am at the store and see a great new pair of shoes, and buy them even though I don't really need them, I am not using our money in a responsible way. When I act this way, I am not being the kind of woman mentioned here, who is carefully selecting items her family needs.

Ok, so we have the freedom and responsibility of finding necessary items for our family. What about the second part of this verse, "and works with eager hands"? When my son wants something, say a shave ice from the stand down the street, I use it as a reward. So right now, we have a calender and he gets a sticker each day when he helps with a chore. Once he gets enough stickers, we get to go to the shave ice stand. I have never seen his little hands so eager to pick up toys, clean the windows, or help with the laundry. I know he can almost taste the yummy shave ice as he works. We are to always work with that same fervor. Whether it is dishes, laundry, or mopping floors, we are to go about it all remembering the prize at the end is a family who is well cared for. Ultimately, we are working for even more than our family. Colossians 3:23 tells us, "Whatever you do, work at it with all our heart, as working for the Lord, not for men".

So I ask myself. How am I treating the wonderful freedom and responsibility I have been given to gather items my family needs? Do I take it lightly and purchase unnecessary items, wasting the money that God has provided? Am I working with eager hands? Do I look forward to all those dishes and laundry, knowing my family is taken care of because of me?

Proverbs 31:12 - She Does Him Good.

2010-07-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this! The last couple of weeks have been filled with visitors, VBS, and general craziness. So anyway, here it is.

Proverbs 31:12 "She does him good and not evil All the days of her life." NAS

On the surface, this one seems a little bit self-explanatory to me. I am to do my husband good, not evil. Hopefully that is not something I need to be told to do! But since God decided it needed to be said, maybe we women need to be reminded. What about the times when I am upset at him? Am I justified in leaving the dishes for him, or in leaving that poopy diaper on my daughter just a few minutes longer so he can change it when he walks in the door from work? According to Proverbs 31, nope! We are to do good to him ALL the days. There are no circumstances listed here. No matter what is happening in our lives, I am to be my husband's helper. This even goes for how I speak about him when he is not there. We all have husbands who are real people, right? So that means none of them are perfect. But does it do well by my husband to chat with my best friend, mom, or other confidant about his weaknesses? Even if there are things that really bug me, it is not helpful to reflect my husband in a poor light to others. So what do we do to keep ourselves from tearing down our husbands when we really feel like we need to talk it out? Is there anyone to whom we can talk? God, of course! He wants to hear from us even when we are struggling. This is where our prayer life becomes a vital part in helping us do good and not evil to our husbands. I often find that if I begin to pray with the intention of complaining about someone, God will often change my heart and I will instead find myself praying for that person! I will leave my time with the Lord with a fresh attitude and no longer feeling the need to tear my husband down to someone else. So I ask myself a few questions. Are there times when what I am doing is not helping my husband? How do I need to work on purging the "evil" out of my behavior toward him? Are there times when I need to shut my mouth to others and instead come before the Lord about my husband?

Proverbs 31:11 - Trust

2010-06-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

"The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain." -NAS

"Her husband has full confindence in her and lacks nothing of value." -NIV

As I read through today's verse, I am reminded of the importance of trust in a healthy marriage. In the NAS version, it says, "the heart of her husband trusts in her." The heart is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible. It is the center of our being. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." When our heart is involved, we are vulnerable! And in Proverbs 31:11, we learn that our husbands should trust us with his heart. He should trust us with his inner-most being, the part of him that will affect everything he does. If my husband trusts me with his heart, and if his heart affects all he does, then it is of utmost importance that I do all I can to preserve this trust! His success is tied to this trust, as confirmed in the second part of verse 11. "And [he] lacks nothing of value", or "And he will have no lack of gain." When my husband is able to trust me with his heart, he is able to succeed. Likewise, if I am not trustworthy, it will contribute to his inability to succeed. This gives me a sense of my importance, and reminds me of my worth as his help mate! It moves me to ask several questions of myself. What am I doing to earn my husband's trust? How do I behave toward him that encourages this deep trust? Am I doing all I can do to preserve this trust?

Now, what does the Bible say makes us women who are worthy to be trusted? The behaviors and qualities listed in the rest of Proverbs 31. Stay tuned...

An excellent wife, who can find?

2010-06-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking much of the identity of this blog. I have been blogging for about a year now and mostly it has contained the facts and figures of my growing family. Occasionally, I have gotten crafty and blogged of my cooking adventures. As we embarked on the adventure of moving away from all family and friends, I feel that I have become more focused on trusting the Lord. I have been feeling that maybe I should share, here, a bit of my heart and what the Lord has been teaching me.

In my effort to become the wife God has called me to be, I am going to challenge myself to study Proverbs 31:10-31. I will go verse by verse and share here what I have studied and ideas to implement this wisdom into my life. Today is verse 10, "An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels." I know that only God can make me into an excellent wife. So that is why I write today of all the ways I have found to help me to grow into the wife of Proverbs 31.

The past few months have been a time of growth in faith for me. After moving, Jason and I were able to quickly find a small group which includes several other young families. We have been blessed beyond words by the amazing people whom we can now call friends! Each of the families has a fire and passion for the Lord, and encourage us in our walks. I have been especially impressed upon by all the wonderful ladies in the group. We seem to share common interests in maintaining a warm home, providing solid nutrition for our families, raising our children to love the Lord, and in being the wives God has called us to be. Through these ladies, I am encouraged to raise the bar, so to speak, and examine my weaknesses so that I can change and grow into the wife God wants me to be. I have also been reading a couple of books lately that have further helped me to examine the areas in which I can grow as a mother and wife. One is "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George. Before moving, we started this study in a mom's group I attended, and since I didn't get to finish before we left, I decided to read the book on my own. I have been challenged to be wholly dedicated to my walk with the Lord. Building into my daily routine time for the Lord, both in prayer and in study of His Word. I have learned that supporting my husband in prayer is vital to his success, and mine! I have also been encouraged to view my position as a mommy as a most precious ministry, as I lead my children toward the Lord. I am by no means perfect in any of these areas, but am able to strive to be better every day! My goal? I want my husband to look at me and think of me as being worth more to him than diamonds.

Spring Has Sprung?

2010-05-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

In South Central Idaho, spring is trying to make it's appearance. But we had snow this morning for this second time this month. Apparently, winter is not ready to give up just yet. Regardless, the days have been warm enough to get outside here and there. I guess it's been a while since I last posted. The quick version is this: the kids and I were rear-ended by a semi truck (everyone is ok!) while sitting at a red light, the whole family went through a 'bout of the stomach creepie cruds, and Amelia turned 4 months old! All of the kids are gaining skills daily. Caleb continues to amaze us with his ability to reason and his extended vocabulary. The other day, we were all sitting the the living room and he found a toy with some scrapes on it. He says to us, "Look, this toy is damaged." And when we got the rental mini-van while our SUV was in the shop after the accident, he jumped in and said, "I LOVE our new vehicle." He sure is picking up words like crazy. Natalie on the other hand is now 19 months and is starting to find her voice. She loves to repeat words after us. Some of her favorite words are "dada, uh oh, pee, cracker, and milk (gook)." Amelia is growing and can now roll both directions with purpose. She is grabbing toys, playing with her feet, responding to her name, and starting to teeth. I am trying to treasure every minute with each of the kids, because these present moments are quickly turning into memories. And here are some recent pictures of the kids from one of those warm days.

Easter Eggs

2010-04-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

While the girls were napping, Caleb enjoyed dying eggs for Easter. The pictures tell the tale...

Leaving

2010-03-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

The past week has been filled with leaving! Amelia was finally able to leave the hospital after 4 nights, and we were glad to come home. She is still on an inhaler several times a day and has some leftover congestion, but seems to be doing much better. The day after we came home from the hospital, the movers came to pack up our house. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. I am thankful that I did not have to pack up the house myself. But apparently, the person who came to estimate how much stuff we had to move underestimated. So it took the movers an extra day and filled much more of their truck than anticipated. Well, they told us they were going to deliver our stuff to the new house on Saturday (originally we were told Monday, then Sunday, and finally Saturday) So we made arrangements to be at the new house by Saturday. I don't know if you have ever traveled with young kinds, but a word to the wise: give yourself LOTS of extra time and get a DVD player (thanks mom & dad for allowing us to use yours!). What would have been a 10 hour drive for just Jason and me turned into over 12 hours with the kids... But we made it! When we were about halfway, we received a call that there was a glitch with the truck arrying our load. The driver was stopped at a weigh station and found to have a problem with his license. So our stuff was being held at the weigh station until a new driver could take over the load! The company was very apologetic and offered to pay the extra nights at a hotel (since we had no beds or anything to stay at the new house) and our meals for the extra couple of days. They promised to fly another driver out (#2 driver in their company) to take over and deliver our stuff to us by Monday. Needless to say, we are so excited to finally move in to our house tomorrow! The extra time has actually been a blessing, as we have had a couple of days to get some of the early work out of the way before the bulk of our stuff comes. We bought a shower curtain and liner for one of the bathrooms, had the locks changed, child-proofed the furnace room and attic access (a small door in an upstairs closet) and put away the few items we had to haul over (propane tanks for the bbq, cleaning chemicals, frozen food etc). Caleb keeps telling us that he loves his "new house" and begged us to stay there tonight instead of the hotel. I think we will all be glad to finally get settled and have some home-cooked meals. So far we really like the city. We have met a couple of our neighbors and they all seems very nice. The weather has been beautiful, in the high 60's today and sunny, but I guess we are supposed to have a few stormy days ahead. Hopefully the rain will hold off until after the movers are done tomorrow! Thanks to all our friends and family who have been praying for us through this time. We have really felt protected and watched over through all of this transition. It is not all easy, and the kids are definately feeling a lack of consistancy, but we can see God's hand in it all.

We knew Mia was feeling a lot better the last morning in the hospital, her smile was back!

Here's the truck that pulled up to move our stuff!
Headed out...
We stopped for Safeway Chinese, and these were our fortunes, a little crazy!

Caleb enjoying our new backyard.
One of the first touches we put on the house, a new shower curtain.

Hospital Adventures (the long version!)

2010-03-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

The kids have had a cold. It all started with Caleb, who gave it to Natalie, who gave it to Amelia. That's how it goes with more than one kid, sickness just keeps getting passed along down the line. But for two-month old Amelia, sickness is not as easy to handle. I was keeping a really close eye on her and doing a lot of research on when to worry about a cold in kids. Usually, it is not too concerning if there is no fever (or even a fever for just a couple of days) and the kids are able to breath ok. Well, all was going ok other than a pretty stuffy nose, when on Wednesday night Amelia started to seem as if she was really struggling to breathe. I heard a slight wheeze for the first time from her, and she was panting. I kept counting her breaths per minute and it was 15 breaths higher than what Dr. Sears says warrants an immediate trip to the ER. So I called our family doctor and he echoed the advice, so off to the ER we went.
Apparently, babies who are struggling to breathe take priority in the ER because we got into the back with almost no wait time despite a very busy ER. The doctor listened to her and agreed she was not able to breath well. He ordered a chest x-ray and a breathing treatment that included a steroid to help ease her rapid, drawn breaths. He then ordered a blood sugar test, which came back really high. His diagnosis based on this was possible diabetes and he immediately called OHSU to see if we could get a bed there and started an IV. Upon a second blood sugar test (and another prick in the heel, poor girl) the blood sugar had lowered significantly and he called the on-call pediatrician. She said that the steroid treatment had probably caused her blood sugar to spike. They did yet another test and found she is positive for RSV ( a respiratory virus). The decision was made to admit her since she is so young and could have oxygen problems really easily with RSV. In the morning, the on-call pediatrician came by and let us know she would be keeping us one more night for observation, since most RSV babies tend to get worse before getting better and they weren't sure where on the curve she was. Sure enough that second night at about 1am she was not able to hold her oxygen levels high enough while sleeping and they started her on oxygen. Throughout today they tried a couple of times to take her off the oxygen, but had to put her back on as soon as she fell asleep. We have been told she will need to stay in the hospital until she is able to hold her oxygen levels up without assistance for an entire night. As for right now, she is still on the oxygen, so we may be looking at another night if things don't rapidly improve overnight.
Here are some pictures from our adventure so far.

The oxygen tubes she now sports on her nose.

Sleeping peacefully now that she can breath.
Her arm is all wrapped up to keep her from pulling out the IV.
The albuterol breathing treatments she gets every 3 hours around the clock.
This is the torture device used to give her a chest x-ray.

2 Months

2010-03-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

Amelia is two months old now! We went to her doctor appointment this last week, and despite a bunch of shots, she did great. She weighed in at just over 12 pounds, which means she has gained almost 5 pounds since birth. She jumped from the 50 percentile to just over the 90 percentile. As for height, she is 22.5 inches long, having jumped from the 50 percentile to the 75 percentile. The doctor did find a small hip click in her left hip, so we will be going in tomorrow for an ultrasound to make sure she is not developing hip dysplasia.

I am really enjoying watching her little personality begin to shine. She is very smiley and happy. Daddy can even make her giggle when he tickles her. I think she will be the most ticklish of all our children. I can hardly pat her back to burp her without her squirming because it tickles. It is amazing to me that in only a couple of months I can hardly remember life without three children. Life is so rich with all three and we are very blessed!

Saying Good-bye and CQ's

2010-03-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

Because we are moving on such a tight timeline, we do not have time to get together individually with many of our friends and family before the move. So we decided a good-bye barbecue sounded like a good way to see everyone. If you know Jason and me, we love to host at our house, and have had many large get-togethers over the past several years. Well, we had a wonderful time yesterday having so many of our friends and family over to celebrate our move. It was a time with much laughter, a few tears, and lots of love! We are realizing that we will really miss everyone here in Oregon (as if we didn't know that before!). Thanks to all who came!

On an exciting note, we may have a buyer for our home! I was starting to get discouraged that our home had been on the market for two weeks and didn't even have one showing. However, a realtor brought a family through yesterday morning and a few hours later they came back to take a second look and measure for their furniture...I think that's a good sign. We received a call last night that they will be meeting with their realtor today to put in an offer. What a blessing to have a prospect.

And now for a few Caleb Quotes. I have not been good about posting these, so here are some quotes (with stories!) from recently. Caleb loves to ask us if he can do things, and is very creative in his asking style. Lately he says to me, "you never mind if I eat this orange (or whatever else it is he wants to do)?"
Daddy loves to tuck Caleb in. Part of the night time routine is singing songs. One night Jason had to work late so I was tucking Caleb in. I always ask which song he wants to sing, and this night he said, "the monkey song!" Well, I don't know about you, but I don't know of any monkey songs! I tried hard to think of what the monkey song may be, but could not figure it out. So that night when Jason came home I asked him about the monkey song. He said, "oh yeah, that's Old MacDonald." What? Apparently Old Macdonald now has a monkey on his farm! Since then, Caleb's favorite song is Old MacDonald, and he often makes up new things for Old MacDonald's farm, like a mommy (who says "no, no here and yes, yes there"), a lion, and even some teeth (that go "chomp chomp").
Whenever Caleb wants to ask a question beginning with "who" he replaces the "who" with "whobody". So he'll say "whobody is at the door?" He made up a song that he loves to sing about whobody and it goes like this..."Whobody on the road? Whobody on the road? Whobody is it? It's....ooma!"

Once Upon A Sunny Day in March...

2010-03-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

Today was such a beautiful day! I think the sunshine rubbed off on the kids, as they were in splendid moods. I think it helped that Caleb and Natalie were able to get out in the backyard and run around. Caleb stayed out all afternoon and pushed his trucks around in the dirt. He came in covered in dirt from head to toe! Such a little boy, I love it! Natalie came inside after a bit and played around with Amelia and me. Natalie is a little busy body these days, carrying things here and there, making little piles all over the house. Amelia has been growing so much, I can hardly believe she will be 8 weeks old tomorrow! She really started smiling a couple of weeks ago and can't seem to stop! Even in the middle of the night when she wakes up to eat, she gives me a bright smile after she's all done. What a joyful child she is. I took the oppoortunity of such a wonderful day to snap a few pictures of the kids playing. Here's our day in pictures:

The Big Move

2010-02-27T16:28:00.000-08:00

Well I can FINALLY break the silence! My amazingly wonderful husband was promoted to store manager a couple of weeks ago, but we were told to keep it quiet until a formal announcement was made. I must say it's been a difficult task, as I have been bursting at the seams! Not just with pride and love for my hubby, but also because the whirlwind began right away to get our home here in Oregon on the market and to find a new home in Idaho. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we are headed to South Central Idaho. We have been so very blessed in this process. God is taking care of the details and things are progressing as smoothly as we could hope for. I am sad about moving away from Oregon, as I have never lived anywhere else, and all our family is here. But we are excited at the idea of making a new home for our family. We know that the Lord has something good in store! I am most excited about the idea of Jason never having to work another night or swing shift, as most of our 7 year marriage has consisted of those shifts. Yay for 8-5! We will also be doing away with his 1 hour drive each way to get to work. To that I say, "Praise the Lord!!"

Jason and I took little Amelia this last week to explore our new hometown (neither of us had ever been there before!) and look for a new house. It was a fun adventure and Amelia was a trooper. She did great on the flights just hanging out in the sling barely making a peep. We loved the amazing views in our new hometown.

This is the bridge leading into town over the Snake River. It is amazing. We were just driving along a freeway and all of a sudden the huge canyon opened up in front of us! Talk about awe inspiring.

Here is a view of the canyon and Snake River from a lookout point next to the bridge. It snowed one of the days we were there.

We were on our way to view the Shoshone Falls, and found a frozen waterfall along the side of the road. Crazy!

Here are the Shoshone Falls. They are often referred to as the "Little Niagra". In the spring I guess there is just a ton of water that flows down, apparently this is a "small flow". We were here at the falls when we received the call that our offer on the house was accepted! It was an incredible place to find out such good news.

Here's the house we will be moving to. I was able to take pictures on the day it snowed. I am excited to live in a place that gets snow so regularly that all the houses we toured had snow-blowers in their garages!

So to all our friends we extend an invite. If you ever want a place to come crash and see some neat sights, come visit! We sure will miss all you Oregon folk!

Our Tiny Wonder

2010-01-17T11:07:00.000-08:00

Speedy Delivery!

2010-01-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

After 9 months of anticipation, the wait is finally over! Amelia Jordyn made her debut into the world yesterday, January 10, at 1:25am. She is absolutely beautiful, weighing in at 7lb, 9oz and measuring 19 inches long.

The story is definately one worth telling, as her speedy entrance into the world took us all by surprise! And sorry for those of you who may not want the details, but I promise I will not get too graphic. We had a scheduled induction for the Monday morning following my due date (today!). My due date came and went and I figured I'd just have to wait for the induction, as with the last two kids. Amelia had other plans. As I was falling asleep around midnight on Saturday, I felt a big kick in the front of my belly and heard a "snap!". I knew almost immediately that Amelia had broken my water. We called Jason's parents and they came over so we could head to the hospital. We were in no rush (or so we thought) as my last labors had taken several hours to really get contractions going and things moving along. About 20 minutes after my water broke, I started having contractions. After the 10 minute drive to the hospital, they were noticeably stronger and coming every 5 minutes. By the time I was checked through the ER (about 15 minutes later), the contractions were bad enough to want an epidural (which I never got!) and I was taken strait to a delivery room. The short story is, within a half hour of arriving in the delivery room Amelia entered the world! I only had about 20 contractions from the time my water broke, and they barely even had an IV started by the time she was out! From the time I was laying in bed to her arrival was a total of 1 1/2 hours. I guess it's a good thing we got to the hospital quickly.

Seriously...

2009-12-15T21:03:00.000-08:00

I have been such a blog slacker! The last few months have just seemed to be wild and crazy, and maybe I can blame a little bit of it on being pregnant and chasing after two little ones. But regardless, here is an update of the last couple months...We had a great Halloween, Caleb was a dragon and Natalie was a flower. This was the first year Caleb was really into going up to the door and saying "Trick or Treat!". We still have most of his candy bucket left, he isn't much of a candy guy. Thanksgiving was wonderful, we had all of the close relatives over to our house, I think it totalled 13 people. Jason and I tag teamed a 24lb turkey on the Traeger and it turned out amazing!! We had NO turkey leftovers. Natalie started walking at the beginning of December, she seemed to catch on really quick and is able to really move fast now. On December 8, Caleb turned 3! We had a combined family party for him and Jason's dad, whose birthday is a couple of days later.

As for the new baby, we are 3 weeks away from the due date of January 6, and she was breech until the day we went in to vert her (externally rotate her to head down!). I think she may have even turned as I sat and waited for the doctor to come in at the hospital...lots of prayer helped with that one! She is a very active child inside, we'll see how that translates into her personality later. And as is the story with all of my pregnancies, my doctor decided to go on vacation (out of the country!) right as I am coming up on my due date. At least this time she will be back before my due date, as long as baby holds out for her until after the 29th.

Well, we are all excited for Christmas and I pray you are too! Let us thank the Lord this season for the most amazing gift of his Son who has given us all life! I am really enjoying teaching Caleb about the Christmas story this year. I would encourage you to look at the "What God Wants for Christmas" nativity set to do with your children if you want a neat way to celebrate the true reason for the season. It is a seven day interactive set (or you could go through the whole thing on Christmas morning) that that tells the Christmas story in a way kids of all ages can understand.

And for some pictures...

Natalie twirling in her Christmas dress.

My handsome man is 3!!

The first steps...

Superman, Birthday and other such...

2009-10-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

I am loving these beautiful fall days, we could not have ordered better weather! My belly continues to grow, and we are down to the three month mark! I am getting more excited to hold this little girl kicking around inside.
Natalie turned 1 on October 2, it is such a joy to watch her grow each day! She now says, "dada", "this", "yes". and the occasional "papa". But I am still waiting for "mama"... She has ventured to take a couple steps at a time away from the table and into my arms (or grandma's) but hasn't gotten up the confidence to keep going. She loves to eat most everything, although doesn't seem to like olives or plain cheese.
Caleb is really seeming to be more of a big boy every day! About three weeks ago he decided he was ready to be potty trained and it only took one day with just two accidents. For the most part, he does very well all day long, even during nap, and only needs a diaper at night. It has been so nice to have just one in diapers, even if for just a few months. :) He has started to ask the "why" question and often asks "what this?". I am amazed by what he is able to remember and all of the sentences he puts together. Right now we are working on saying "I" in place of "me". He has really started to form opinions and assert his preferences too. One day he told Jason and me that he does not want another sister and said "sister go bye-bye, have a brother." Fits are also a regular occurance these days if we tell him "no". I have a feeling that three may be a little more challenging than two because of this!

Here is a picture of Nattie on her birthday, she has been cutting her molars and I think they were really bothering her the night of her party. She cried all the way through everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to her.

She was a little happier when we put a cupcake in front of her!

Caleb got some new shades from a trip to get his flu shot at the doctor's office, and his second cousin, Alex, gave him a sweet superman cape. He wore both around for two days strait! Here he is enjoying a beautiful fall afternoon in the backyard.

Photography Fun

2009-09-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

So I am excited that I have another wedding booked for December. What a photography adventure I am on...I am having a blast! I was able to participate in a wonderful group with other local photographers this week, and we had the opportunity to photograph some beautiful models in wedding dresses for practice. We started after dark and walked the streets of downtown Portland looking for interesting backdrops. It sure gave me some great ideas and a longer wish list for equipment. Here are a few of the fun shots I got!

Car Wash

2009-09-27T12:24:00.001-07:00

Caleb enjoyed helping daddy wash his car today..what a cutie!

Cornbread

2009-09-07T13:31:00.001-07:00

I have been loving this cool weather! I am such a fall and winter girl, I am ready for it to be here now!!! Well, the cool weather inspired me to make chili. I embarked on the journey of making my own chili powder, but it turned out much too spicy (too many arbol chiles!) so I will have to wait until I prefect the recipe to post it. But I was able to figure out some good cornbread. Jason asked me to find or create a cornbread that was not dry. So I did some searching on the internet and found a basic recipe that had some good reviews for being moist. I thought for a bit about how to make sure it remained moist, and read a review about someone adding fresh corn to the batter. I decided instead of fresh corn, to add half a can of creamed corn. It is nice and sweet and would add a bit more moisture along with the kernals of corn. Yum! It worked beautifully and I have found that it almost doesn't need the butter and honey, it is so moist and sweet. So here is the recipe. Give it a try if you like, I think it is definately better than the boxed mix! By the way, if you don't have buttermilk on hand, substitute 1 cup milk (skim works best, but whatever you have on hand is fine) mixed with a tablespoon of lemon juice (mix them together and let it sit for 10 minuted or so before using). If it turns out sweeter than you like, you can cut the amount of sugar in half.

Moist Buttermilk Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 can creamed corn

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8 inch square pan (or double the recipe and use a 9x11 pan).

Place butter in a large skillet and melt over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in skillet. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Gently mix in creamed corn just until incorporated. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool a few minutes before cutting.

Top with butter and honey if desired, say blessing and enjoy!!

Backyard fun!

2009-08-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

I realized this week that my blog is covered with mostly pictures of Caleb. I think that's because I don't have to chase after him constantly and can actually sit back and take his picture, while Nattie is always on the move and won't sit still long enough for me to run away from her and snap a picture! Well, the kids have really been enjoying the summer weather and playing in the backyard. We went outside tonight just before sunset and I managed to get a few good shots of Nattie...I just love my little cutie!

Cooking Substitutions

2009-08-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted anything about my recent cooking adventures. Here is some information you may find useful. As I was preparing to make one of my favorite recipes for chicken enchiladas, I found that one of the key ingredients for the filling, sour cream, was not in my fridge! What am I do? Should I pack up my two young children and run to the store for just one ingredient? Should I just forget making the enchiladas and find something different? For years I would always do one of those two things...but it sure is a pain to go to the store for just one thing, or to try and find a new recipe where I have everything I need. I would go through recipe after recipe, deciding I didn't have this or that so it wouldn't work! Well I have discovered an easier way! Substitutions! This can be an intimidating thing for some people, but it definately gets easier with a little practice and a few general rules to follow.

First, ask yourself whether the item missing is one that is crucial to the outcome of your recipe. When you are baking, is the item an egg, baking powder, flour or something else that has to do with the chemical reactions that cause the item to turn out? Or if you are cooking, is it a key ingredient that will make or break the dish, such as my sour cream, which makes up a significant portion of the recipe? If the answer is yes to this question, it is important to really think through what you will do to find a replacement. For baking (or cooking really), there are many websites which list common substitutions. The best one I have found is http://www.foodsubs.com/. This is an amazing website! You can find substitutions for everything from eggs to baking powder! It can definately save the day. For my enchiladas, I found some plain yogurt in my fridge. This has the same tang and similar consistancy to sour cream. Perfect! My family did not even realize anything was different with the enchiladas.

Now, if the item is not crucial to the recipe, such as one of the vegetables in the dish, or a particular spice, it can be easy to just leave it out, or to find something else that will taste just as good! For example, if the recipe for calls for garlic and you don't have any fresh on hand, add a little bit of garlic powder (just keep in mind powdered and dried spices and herbs are a lot more potent than fresh, so add just a little and taste before adding more!). Or, look at my couscous salad recipe in the sidebar, it calls for many veggies. If you don't have kidney beans, for instance, add chickpeas instead (the original recipe actually called for chickpeas, but I like the sweetness of kidney beans better). Or just leave them out! You could even leave out the chicken to make it vegitarian. Things like this are very flexible and may make the dish taste a little different, but will not ruin it. You may even find that you like it better with your new substitution!

And the Cake is Cut...

2009-08-20T21:49:00.001-07:00

So we had the party and the results are in...

This is the cake made by our wonderful "grandma Pat". It is so cute!!

And we are having...

A GIRL!!!!!!!!!

Baby Day and Photoshop Fun

2009-08-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

Life has been pretty busy the past couple of weeks! We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday, which marks the halfway point of this pregnancy. I can't believe time has gone so quickly, the baby will be here before we know it! The ultrasound was really fun, and we got a great 3D picture of the baby's face. I will post it tonight, but have to wait until after our gender party. Oh yeah, I should explain. We had the ultrasound tech find out the gender and take a picture yesterday, but he put it in a special frame and we didn't look at it. Instead, we took it to our wonderful cake lady who did the cake for our wedding and now does all our family cakes. She is making a cake that is either pink champagne (girl) or blueberry (boy) and frosting it generic. We get to pick it up tonight and all our family is coming over for a bar-b-q where we will cut the cake open and find out the gender together. After that, I will be able to post all of the pictures from the ultrasound CD! I can't wait to find out! When we ask Caleb, he always says that it is a boy, and that has been my suspision all along. We'll see!!

In other news, I was able to purchase some really neat photoshop programs this past week and have been enjoying developing my logo. Here are a couple more pictures from the wedding (of the bride's adorable nephew!) with an idea for my new watermark. Just thought you might like to see a couple more fun pictures. Let me know if you like the watermark logo.

Me... A Wedding Photographer?

2009-08-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

I started a photography business a little over a year ago. My focus was to be infants and children and I began by begging all of my friends to allow me to take pictures of their kids! Little by little, I have built a portfolio and a decent website. Well this past week, I had a relative come to me and ask if I would be willing to consider doing pictures for her friend's wedding, LAST MINUTE! I had always said I would never photograph a wedding, as it is not something I can retake if I happen to mess up. But I felt that this was a situation that actually might make for a great first wedding...so I said yes! The wedding was on Sunday. I had about a week to prepare and was more nervous than I had ever been. I called my great friend a couple of days before the day and she offered to come along and assist me. I thought that was a wonderful idea! So together we went went on a journey as the "wedding photographers". The day started HOT, and the wedding was a little off schedule when we arrived. But I think that we pulled it off! Here are a couple shots I took, it's just a sneak peek, I will have more on my business website http://www.terrasphoto.com/, in a week or so, once I am able to show the pictures to the bride and groom. Stay tuned!

And we are exhausted, but had a blast!

Chicken Yakisoba

2009-07-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

As promised, I am following up with my Chicken Yakisoba recipe. A quick note before we start. This recipe cost me under $15 and served hearty portions for 4 adults, one child, and I had two servings of leftovers! You could probably cut everything in half if you are only cooking for two, and it would be an even better value.

Ingredients you'll need:
1-2 pounds of chicken or lean pork, sliced against the grain
1 bottle of Teriyaki 30 minute marinade
4 carrots, sliced thin, length-wise like matchsticks
1 medium head of cabbage, chopped
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, chopped
16 ounces of chuka noodles (2 packages)
2 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger
3 scallions, finely sliced
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bottle of tonkatsu sauce (they sell it in the Asian section at Winco)

Place sliced chicken or pork in a gallon ziplock bag with 30 minute teriyaki marinade. Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes. After meat is finished marinating, cook noodles in a pot of water. Bring to boil and let boil until they float (al dente, not fully soft, you don't want mushy noodles!). Drain and set aside with a little bit of oil mixed in so they don't stick together. Under medium heat, add oil to a large frying pan or to a wok. Add meat. Stir while frying until meat is cooked through. Drain off most of the liquid that is in the bottom of wok from marinade. Add onions, ginger, garlic, and carrots. Stir well while cooking and add salt and pepper to taste. Add Cabbage and cook until it just barely starts to wilt (don't let it get too done, it will cook more as it sits and is re-heated, overcooked cabbage will ruin your yakisoba!). Remove meat and veggies from the wok and set aside in a big bowl. Place noodles in the wok and add more oil and about 1/3 of tonkatsu sauce. Fry until noodles begin to brown. Mix the meat and veggie mixture back into the wok with noodles and add in remaining tonkatsu sauce. Make sure everything is coated with the sauce and let simmer just until warmed through, so as to not overcook the cabbage. Serve immediately, say blessing, and enjoy!

A New Inspiration

2009-07-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

So I have recently been enjoying trying new recipes. I guess it's actually more about creating my own recipes by modifying ones I find online. Or just simply finding something that sounds good and trying to re-create it from scratch. It has come out of two years of staying home and watching food network. I started making recipes I would see on shows that sounded good. At first, I would follow the recipes to the letter, making sure everything was done exactly as recommended. But after a while, I began realizing that there are some easy ways to change recipes that may make them more appealing to me or my family! One of the first things I found was to use half of the oil in baking recipes (and even then use only a light olive oil) and replace the remaining half with applesauce. At least it makes baked goods that much more healthy! From there I expanded to changing spices (adding, deleting) and reducing the amount of sugar in baked goods. I then started playing with cooking (as opposed to baking) which is much more easy to modify. The reason for this is that in baked goods, you really can't change the amounts of flour, leavening agent, eggs, fats etc. or else the recipe just won't turn out in the oven! But when cooking something that doesn't require those specific combinations of ingredients to turn out, you can be a lot more creative. I think that part of my recent branching out in my cooking is owed in part to being pregnant and cravings! I find things that sound good, but can't find any equivalent in the store that satisfies the craving. So I decide to try and do my best to make it myself. The other day was the pico de gallo...tonight was Yakisoba! I have made stir fry for years, but it was never anything special and definately not what I was craving. So I decided to look online for some inspiration. I found a base recipe for Yakisoba and went from there, changing the sauce and the cooking technique just a bit to make it so the cabbage wasn't overcooked and the sauce was not runny...I will create another post soon with the entire recipe, but for tonight I think I have written enough! I say all of this to make a point. I have found a new inspiration for this blog. For those of you who love to cook, or who want to become better at cooking, I am going to post my adventures in cooking here! All of the regular family updates will still be included. But in addition, I will share my newest recipes, and maybe some of our tried and true favorites, and give tips that I am learning. Hope you want to join me as I learn and experiment along with me! Bon Appetit!

A New Recipe

2009-07-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

With all of my pregnancies, no matter which foods turn my stomach, I can usually handle mexican food. Since this pregnancy is no exception, when we went to Baja Fresh the other day I became rather attached to their fresh pico de gallo from the salsa bar. The next day, as I was finishing the last bit that I had brought home in those little plastic containers, the idea came to me that it may be pretty easy to re-create this deliciousness! So yesterday I went to Winco and grabbed 3 pounds of roma tomatoes, 2 large onions, 1 bunch of cilantro and 2 anaheim chilis. When I got home I cut up all of the tomatoes into small chunks, stuck the onions and chilis in the food processor until they were diced pretty small, and chopped up about half of the cilantro. I just started adding...and tasting...adding. I used all of what I had chopped up and added a touch of salt. We had Jason's parent's over for dinner, and when they arrived I was just finishing the 2 quarts (8 cups) of pico de gallo. Jason's mom sarcastically said, "think you have enough pico?" Haha...by the end of the night we only had about 1 cup of the 8 left and had busted through an entire family sized bag of tortilla chips! No one could stop digging in! I thought afterwards that I should have taken some pictures, but the pico was consumed so quickly it just didn't happen! So anyway, I never knew pico could be so simple and taste so good!! This is definately something I will be making a lot this summer as my own romas ripen in my garden....yummm...

Family Time!

2009-07-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a wonderful week! Jason had a week of vacation to use and we decided to just stay home and go to a few places we have wanted to see as a family within driving distance . So we went to the local art Fair, Jason's high school reunion, out to a friend's house in Eastern Oregon, to the beach, and to explore the Aviation and Space Museum. It has been a full week! The kids have really loved having their daddy around all the time. At the art fair, Natalie enjoyed people watching and Caleb made a picture frame and got his hand painted. It was a great start to vacation. In Eastern Oregon, we enjoyed spending time with our friends. Jason and his friend Tim were able to take the boys (Tim's son and Caleb) out for a Jeep ride to the top of a big mountain. The boys loved the open top Jeep! Tim and Jason also hiked early in the morning up to a beautiful lake. The kids and I stayed at the house and watched deer come up to the house feeder. Natalie especially loved the deer and would squeal with delight. The Aviation and Space Museum was fun, but a little bit more involved than Caleb was ready for. He liked looking at all of the planes, but really wanted to touch, so he had a hard time staying out of the roped off areas. They did have a little airplane ride that he really loved, and went on twice! I think my favorite adventure was definately the beach. We went to the Marine Science Center where Caleb was able to touch many sea creatures in their touch tank. I would definately recommend this place to families with younger children, as it has many tanks full of fish to watch and lots of things to touch. It is also only a $10 suggested donation per family and is not too long, so it is perfect for short attention spans! We then went and played on the beach, let Caleb fly a kite, and ate pizza at one of our favorite places.
Here are the pictures...

Art Fair

The Jeep Ride

Air & Space Museum

The Beach

The Night Time Battle

2009-07-13T03:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know if anyone else has been through anything like this, but my 2 1/2 year old is suddenly having problems sleeping. Due to a major change in the family routine, Caleb started getting up in the middle of the night. The number of times he awakes has increased in the last few days to four times, or more. Here's how it went two nights ago...Caleb comes into my room or stands at his bedroom door crying, "mommy," until I come. The first time, I asked him to jump into bed and he wanted to do the entire night time routine all over again...singing, praying, tucking, the works. So after this was done, I said good night. A half hour later there he was again, over and over. I was trying to do the "supernanny" thing and just put him back into bed and leave. But it was obviously not working! I was getting to my wits end and it just seemed to just be getting worse each night and not better. I began to wonder if I should just let him crawl in bed with me and fall asleep. However, this is a habit neither I, nor my husband, want to foster. But I was almost at my limit! My pregnant body was begging for sleep!

So I went online to read about sleep on AskDrSears.com. Dr. Sears wrote a book called "The Baby Book" that is basically the bible for all issues baby, and I have come to trust his opinion on most matters. He has a wonderful article that really made me a lot more at ease about the whole issue. He explains that when a family has a major routine change, it will most likely cause toddlers and young children to experience sleep upset. Caleb just desperately wants to be near me in the middle of the night for security, but I need my sleep and so does he! The solution Dr. Sears poses is to set up a "special bed" on the floor in our room for when Caleb wakes in the middle of the night and needs to be near. Caleb can just come in and tuck himself into his "special bed" and be with me, without disturbing my sleep so much! It should meet both of our needs for sleep and his need for security. Well, I tried it last night, and I got my first full night of sleep in two weeks! Caleb came in at about 11:30, and once he was tucked in to his "blue bed" (a blue sleeping bag) he stayed asleep until morning! Amazing! I have learned that I must be willing to compromise on my opinion of what should be, in order to give Caleb the security apparently needs. :)

Blueberries

2009-06-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

We went blueberry picking today! It was opening day for the blueberry farm, so there was only one other group of people there picking. I loved having my pick of the crop! I could tell it is just the start of the season and had to hunt a bit, but there were plenty of beautiful, large ripe berries. Caleb is old enough now to actually be of some help, or at least stay out of too much trouble! Last year he was not quite 2 and he just wanted to eat and dump out all of the berries I had picked. In fact, he actually dumped out the entire box of someone else's berries last year! But this year he knows his colors and can mostly refrain himself to just picking the blue ones. He actually filled his little container about halfway before he ate some and the rest spilled. Then he ran around and found sticks and other fun stuff while I finished filling my bowls. In all, we got 12lbs, which is about 8 quarts. Since we use them for muffins, pancakes, and smoothies all winter, I think I will go back and pick some more next week. Maybe on daddy's day off!

Pitas!

2009-06-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Ok. So I have been inspired lately to write. Maybe it is that my nausea is starting to get better, maybe it is just the nice sunny summer weather. Whatever the case, I must say that there is nothing quite like the smell of fresh baked bread in you home! For those of you who have made bread before, or for those who are just adventurous, I found a wonderful recipe for homemade pitas you must try. It is a little bit time consuming, but the smell in your home and the taste of hamemade pitas just can not compare to buying them from the store. I tried one fresh out of the oven and they are amazing! My first thought was how good they would be slathered with Nutella. Then I thought about all of the lunch sandwhich possibilities for Caleb - PB&J, Chicken Salad, Tuna, deli meat...it is nearly endless! And what toddler wouldn't love a sandwich that is a pocket? Caleb didn't want to eat his half, he wanted to put it on his pants like a "pocket". How fun! A little note for those who try this recipe...don't overcook them! I tried 4 minutes with the first batch, and the edges got just a little bit too crispy to where they wouldn't soften up and cracked. So I would start with only 3 minutes and then work your way up. Really, they don't need to get very brown at all. Mine just got mostly brown on the bottom where they sat on the rack. Other than that, this is pretty simple, but make sure you have a few hours to tend to all of the rising periods. Then enjoy!! Yum.

Garden

2009-06-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

Since being married and a mother, I have found little bits of my own mother coming out in me. One of the ways it manifests is in my love of gardening. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of all of the gardens my mother tended at each of the houses where we lived. Some years it was mostly flowers, other years it included veggies. My mother seems to love growing flowers most, and no longer grows any veggies. But I love all of the plants that produce things I can eat with my mouth instead of my eyes! I also like knowing that the food I am serving to my family is something that is wholesome, organic, and much tastier than what you buy at the store. Someday I dream of having the space for a full in-ground garden complete with corn, pumpkins, and other larger plants. For now, I have some nice raised beds and try to make the most of one little strip of full sun in our backyard. Last year was my first attempt at veggies, and I was excited at the few zuchinnis, cucumbers, green peppers, and giant crop of cherry tomatoes I acheived. I learned some things about my yard and the placement of plants according to the sun. This year I changed a couple of plants around and things are looking really good. Let me take you on a partial tour...

First is my herb garden. I love using fresh herbs when I cook and they are so expensive to buy! The nice thing about herbs is they continue to grow throughout the winter and get bigger each year! I have so much thyme this year, I think I may end up freezing some or drying it to use this winter. I also have oregano, chives (delicious on baked potatoes!), sage, and rosemary.

Next are the tomatoes. My big tomatoes are just blooming, so there's not much to see there. These are my favorite and must have "Sungold" cherry tomatoes. They are so sweet and taste like candy! One plant produces buckets of tomatoes all throughout the summer. They are really good in salads or just eaten right off the vine.

These are romas, you can kinda tell by the shape. This is my first time doing romas, so we'll see how they turn out.

This is a zuchinni that will be ready in about a week. I make zuchinni bread and freeze it to eat all winter. Our family LOVES zuchinni bread. I planted only one zuchinni plant last year and got about 3 zuchinni off of it, but it was in an area that was too shady. This year I have four plants in a much sunnier location and each plant already has 2-3 zuchinni on it!

Here is the start of a cucumber. I also have four cucmber plants and each has several cucmbers growing. I love fresh cucmbers out of the garden for salad.

I am growing onions for the first time this year. Walla Wallas and scallions are the ones I am trying. They are looking like they are growing steadily, we'll see!

And last is the lettuce. I did many different kinds last year, but the only two that weren't bitter where Romaine and Green Leaf. So this year those are the two that I am growing.

I also have strawberries that are pretty much done, pole beans that are being eaten by something unknown (I have tried slug and snail bait but it must not be slugs or snails), and green peppers that are not yet fruiting. I will have more updates as the season continues!

Pictures...finally!

2009-06-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

Well we finally figured out a system in our home where I have the ability to do my photo editing out in the main room while the kids are playing or sleeping. It is much better than before when the only computer I could use for editing was in Natalie's bedrooom/office where the kids can not play! So now I will hopefully be able to get my pictures off my camera more often and onto the blog. I suppose then, this is a catch up for the last couple of months! The kids are both growing and learning new things. Natalie is getting really fast at crawling and has even started pulling up and climbing onto things!

This is how we now find her in the mornings or after nap.

Here she was helping mommy unload the dishwasher! She climbed up onto the door all by herself.

Caleb got a new scooter and loved his helmet so much he didn't want to take it off. When I was mopping the floors one day I set the barstools on the couch. Caleb thought it would be fun to put his head through the barstool. But then he couldn't get it out thanks to his helmet!

And here is Caleb all decked out in his gear and going for the first ride on his new scooter.

A Sneak Peek...

2009-06-04T07:55:00.001-07:00

So I probably don't even need to say it, but the Stopher household is filling fast! We are due with baby #3 in January. We are so excited to have been able to see our new little blessing this morning! Everything looks good, and the heartbeat was strong. This pregnancy has been a lot harder already, with my nausiousness being overwhelming. Each day, I start getting nausious mid-morning and it gets worse and worse throughout the evening until I finally go to sleep feeling like I have the full blown stomach flu. I had a little bit of this with the other two kids, but not this bad!! I am hoping it only lasts the first trimester, and will be over soon. I have also been really tired and so naps have been a must whenever I can get them in. We have told Caleb that mommy has another baby in her tummy and he seems excited. When asked he usually tells us that it is a little brother. We have decided that we are going to find out the gender this time, so we'll know in a few months! Well, that is the exciting news around our house these days, I am off to take a nap! :)

A Wild Week

2009-05-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

Life has gotten busy lately, and so the blog has seemed to get pushed to the bottom of the list! I am so sorry!! The last two weeks went like this... To start things off, my grandmother passed away a week and a half ago. So with only a couple days notice, I boarded a plane this past Monday for a whirlwind two-day trip to Arizona for the funeral. My grandmother was a strong, encouraging woman of God! The testimonies shared throughout the funeral activities again brought her wonderful spirit alive for those who knew her. The days were spent visiting with family whom I haven't gotten to see much lately. And leaving the rain for 105 degrees was actually nice. It was really a refreshing trip overall.

Once I returned, Jason and I enjoyed an amazing weekend at the coast for a couple's retreat. The getaway was to celebrate our 6th anniversary. The speakers were really insightful and talked a lot about the importance of commication in marriage. What a great reminder! Jason and I had a great time walking along the shoreline, flying kites, eating at a local brewery, and staying up into the wee hours of the morning playing cards with friends. What a precious time to be together, away from the children, for the first time since Natalie was born.

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day, we decided to spend the evening eating a picnic dinner at the park with the kids. Jason's parents and grandma met up with us also. What a perfect end to a crazy and rewarding week!

I have MANY pictures, but haven't had the time to upload them from my camera...they will come soon...

Does Time Have Wings?

2009-05-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

Because it sure seems to be flying away! Natalie is 7 months today. She has another beautiful tooth in the front and her smile is more adorable every day. She is moving around on her own, but not quite at a full crawl yet. It's more of a crawl/roll combo, but it generally gets her where she wants to go.

Caleb is talking in full sentences and loves to make up many stories. Yesterday we had some pancakes for breakfast and Jason got out some whip cream to put on Caleb's pancake. He made a smiley face and we asked Caleb what it was. He replied, "dada clause" (santa clause). I guess because the face was white, he associated it with Santa's beard. Oh the connections he makes! When we go to Costco, Caleb loves to hand the receipt to the guy on the way out. The worker always writes a smiley face on the back. Lately, Caleb has been calling the smiley, "papa" (grandpa). After the Santa, I am now thinking he is connecting the smile with my dad's beard. :) We have been having a rough time at night recently, and Caleb seems to make any excuse he can as to why he is not ready for bed (food, potty, the hook on the ceiling is scary, etc). The other night he came out after I had put him down for he third time and said to me, "tv too loud, night night time!" What a goof! I was watching one of the quietest cooking shows I know of!

On the Mend

2009-04-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

What a week it has been! Caleb is finally on the mend, but it was a long road. One night we went through three changes of sheets on our bed (thanks to Caleb coughing so hard he got sick!). I am glad we are through it now. And we are blessed that Natalie stayed healthy! Speaking of Natalie, her front right tooth on the top finally poked through after a couple of weeks of working at it, so now she has three. She got her first taste of rice cereal the other day. I had fun watching her figure out what to do with her tongue and how to open her mouth big and wide for the spoon! I love experiencing all of the "firsts" with my children.

I finished my first knitting project and I think it turned out ok! I made a hat for Natalie.

Caleb participated in his first egg hunt this last weekend. He was so excited, he could hardly wait for the "Go!". He did really well and filled his entire Shrek basket with candy!!

Miscellanious News

2009-04-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

The last week has brought such beautiful weather to the Pacific Northwest! It is just too bad that Caleb came down with croup yesterday, which has put a damper on our the enjoyment of it. We went to the doctor today for Natalie's six month appointment, and added Caleb on after a night of labored breathing and horrible "seal" coughs. Natalie is now 27 inches long and weighs 17.05 pounds! She is just around the 75% for both height and weight. And, she is just starting to wear 12 month clothes!! Caleb officially has croup and we came home with a prescription for oral steroids and orders to get a cool mist humidifier. Hopefully he will get more sleep tonight (and mom and dad too!).

I am very excited to begin knitting lessons tomorrow at a local wool shop. My mom and dad gave me a gift certificate for my birthday. I am most excited at the idea of making cute hats for my kids this winter! Knitting is something I have always wanted to do, but never could figure out on my own. Yay!

I have another thrifty meal idea for anyone who wants...as the grilling season gets underway a great thing I do is pre-marinate meat for the grill. When chicken (or any other meat of your liking) goes on sale, I stock up and separate it out into gallon-sized ziplock bags (about 2 pounds per bag). I fill each bag with a different marinade. Sometimes I use the powdered marinades that just need some oil and vinegar added, other times I buy salad dressings (Italian, Honey Mustard Vinegrette, Vidalia Onion Vinegrette, etc) and add about a half cup into each bag. This time I did some of both. Then, I stack each bag in the freezer laying flat, to save space. Just pull a bag of meat out into the fridge a day or so ahead of time and you are ready to grill! A great side dish our family loves with these meals is fresh veggies grilled in foil with seasoning salt, garlic, butter, or any other seasoning you prefer. What a great, wholesome meal!

My Aunt embroidered some adorable clothes for the kids, a dress for Natalie and a shirt for Caleb. Here are a few snapshots I took.

A Look Back

2009-04-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

My darling daughter is halfway to one year today! I thought it would be fun to take a look at the progression of growth this far. I took the first photo in the hospital, she was about 1 day old. The next one was taken at about 2 months old, it was part of a Christmas present for the grandmas. The last one is from our day at the park a couple of weeks ago. I look back at Caleb's pictures from this age and can hardly remember him being so little! I know it will be the same for Natalie. I pray that I can cherish every single moment.

Ready for Spring!

2009-03-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I am very ready for the weather to turn warm! It seems like the flu season hit much later this year than usual and there are some nasty bugs going around, so I have been keeping the kids home as much as possible to avoid the bugs. But the weather hasn't given us much opportunity to play outside and Caleb is getting a bit stir crazy. We try to get out to the park and play in the backyard as much as we can on those rare sunny days. I was able to do a few fun pictures with Natalie last week when we made it to the park.

In recent news, Natalie is sitting up on her own very well now and her second tooth just popped through! She is also able to roll around to get the toys and other interesting things she wants to look at. I found her several feet from where I set her down yesterday after walking into the kitchen to prepare some food. Time to teach Caleb which of his toys can be dangerous to her!

I have been doing a lot of cooking, experimenting especially with beans. I found a recipe for lentil burgers that is very economical (under $5 to make 12 large burger patties). And the best part is, Jason loved them! Take 6 cups of cooked lentils and mix it with 8 eggs in the blender or food processor along with any salt until it is the consistancy of a runny hummus. Then transfer it to a bowl and add 1 chopped onion and and any spices you like. Stir in 2 cups of bread crumbs and let it sit for a few minutes to soak up some of the liquid. It should be pretty moist, but you can add more bread cumbs if it is drippy. Then just form it into patties and freeze or cook in a skillet with a little olive oil. I made a bunch and froze them to use as we want. Jason got me a food processor for Christmas and I have also been making many bean soups and dips. One really easy idea is to take a jar of salsa (Winco has some on sale right now for $.98) and process it up with a can of black beans. It makes a delicious, protein packed dip that tastes homemade!

An Overdue Update

2009-03-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

I must apologize for the length of this entry right up front! I have not been as faithful in either blogging or picture taking recently. Our family went through a couple of weeks of sickness and it seems that after a good round of sickness it takes a week or more to catch up on things...the house, laundry, errands. We are all finally healthy and seem to be caught up. It is a good feeling. In recent news, Caleb is talking in full sentences now, three or four words at a time! I get such joy out of hearing him ramble on in the back seat of the car. He has also started making up stories about people he knows and the things he sees. His little imagination is blooming! Potty training is coming along, he makes it to the potty seat one or two times a day now. Natalie's first tooth, the front bottom left, poked through yesterday. The bottom right looks like it will follow in the next few days. She is handling teething a lot better than Caleb did. She has just been extra sleepy, so maybe she is going through a growth spurt at the same time! She is now fitting perfectly into 9 month clothes, and can even wear a handful of 12 month stuff (at only 5 months old!).

We did take a trip to the zoo with my mom last week. Because of where she works, she is able to get us all into the zoo free. We have been going often and only look at a few exhibits each time. It is nice not to be pressured to see the whole thing in one day (kinda draining for the kids) because we can just go back another day! I have a feeling we will be going to the zoo a lot this summer. Each time we go we always check on the baby elephant and then choose just a few other animals to see. This time we saw the sea lions and the NW exhibit with fish, a petting zoo, bears, wolves, and such. Caleb loves the water animals the best. He wanted to sit and watch the turtles for a long time.

My mom also found out that the public library has passes for area activities to check out for a day. These include the children's museum, Japanese garden, Gilbert House, Portland Art Museum, etc. So we checked out a pass to go to the Children's museum! I was unsure if Caleb would be old enough to enjoy it, but there are activities for babies all the way up through school age children. There is a water section where kids can play with different water toys (water-proof aprons are provided), a section just for 32 months and younger, a clay making studio (kids can make things free and only pay $1 to take it home), a full theatre where the kids can play with all sorts of props and put on an impromptu play and TONS more...it was great! I was very impressed and Caleb loved playing in a place where "no" is rarely needed.

A New Adventure

2009-02-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

It's the start of something exciting in the Stopher household. Caleb has reached an age where he seems to be ready to potty train, and he just might do it all by himself! We had just finished cleaning up from dinner this evening when Jason and I realized Caleb was no longer riding around the house on his trike. We recently purchased a stool from Ikea for Caleb to use in the bathroom to wash his hands. He has been so excited about being able to reach, however, that he will go into the bathroom and turn on the water any chance he gets. Most often I will find him playing with his bath toys in the sink. When I looked down the hallway, I found the bathroom door ajar and the light on, telltale signs Caleb was in the bathroom. From down the hall, I asked him to please come out and not play in the sink. He exclaimed back to me "poop!" I went into the bathroom to find that he had taken off his diaper, placed it in the trash next to the toilet, and was sitting on his training potty in the middle of going pee! I was so excited I started clapping and cheering and Jason came running in. What fun it is to be a parent...we get excited over things that most rational, childless people would find really silly! Caleb proudly picked the bowl out of his training potty and dumped its contents into the big potty. He LOVES to flush! I feel that just as I am settling in to a stage of parenthood, a new challenge comes along. I am not sure what the next step in this potty training thing is, but I know that as with all of the stages before, I will learn.

Rainy Day

2009-02-23T12:38:00.001-08:00

Today is really yucky outside. This is the living room window looking into my backyard.

Growing Up

2009-02-16T23:01:00.000-08:00

My baby girl is growing up faster than I had ever imagined! Today she sat up with very little assistance from the Boppy...for several minutes. She is such a wonderfully happy little peanut. She loves to smile, especially when she catches eye contact. Her brother is a source of endless fascination. As long as he is playing nearby, her attention is captured. I love her expressions and she watched him. Her eyebrows will perk and furrow, smiles will flit across her face. Caleb loves her just as much, and enjoys showing her the ins and outs of many toys. It is amazing watching their relationship blossom. Caleb is definately aware that he is the big brother. He will bring her a blanket or toys if she cries, and will tell me when he thinks her diaper needs changing. He is such a good helper. His helping goes much beyond sister. I can not get out the vacuum without his help pushing it, or unload the dishwasher without his help on the bottom drawer. He loves to get out the broom if he spills and asks for napkins when his hands are dirty. What kind of 2 year old is he? I am such a blessed mommy.

"Thank Me!"

2009-02-10T22:13:00.000-08:00

To all of those who I happened to talk to the past day or so, thanks for your prayers! The Lord has been so very faithful to our family! For the rest of you, I will fill in the gaps. We had a little bit of a scare with Natalie, or at least, mommy was quite scared. We had her 4 month check-up with the doctor on Friday, and I asked about a white spot Natalie has in the middle of her pupil (the black part of her eye). The doctor said he definately saw something in her eye and referred us to an opthomologist. I, being of the proactive type, decided to do a little online "research" on eye problems in infancy. The only information I could find was the worst possible scenario of a cancerous tumor. (Lesson learned: A mommy should never "research" medical symptoms on the internet!! It will only create fear and anxiety.) Anyway, the doctor set up our appointment for today. I was terrified that my little baby girl could possibly have cancer! Well, we waited for what seemed an eternity in the lobby (such an evil place for the anxious parent). When we finally saw the eye doctor, he looked with his microscope and almost immediately was able to diagnose the her completely benign condition. (Big sigh of relief from mom!) She has what he called a "persistant pupillary membrane". In other words, when her eye formed, it didn't completely form her pupil correctly and she has a little piece of the iris (colored part) in the middle of her pupil. It will always be there and will not affect her vision. I guess it's kinda like a birth mark on her eye. Praise the Lord for he is good!
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalms 139:13 NIV "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalms 139:14 NIV

And for another story... We had Jason's parents, grandma, sister and her husband over for dinner tonight. We were all sitting at the table eating and Caleb asked for some water. Jason handed him a sippy and he signed "thank you" while drinking. We asked him to say thank you with his mouth. He again signed it. So I tried to help him out. I said "say Thank..." He repeated it. I said "You..." He said "me! Thank Me!" Because of all of the laughter at the table, Caleb knew he had made a funny and just kept saying "Thank Me!" Well, I guess it's a start.

A Day at Home with the Camera

2009-02-09T19:20:00.000-08:00

As you can see, Caleb wasn't so happy to have his picture taken. But Natalie is always a good sport!

Park Play Day

2009-02-03T21:39:00.000-08:00

The weather has been so beautiful! I decided to take advantage of the sun today and get the kids out of the house. I loaded up the stroller, Caleb's trike and some snacks and off we went! Caleb loved riding aroung the trails at the park, and then had tons of fun climbing on the play structures. He begged me to keep playing even after an hour. Natalie was all smiles until she fell asleep five minutes after arriving! She slept through the rest of the trip.

Today we put Natalie's "big girl" crib together, and she is sleeping in her own room for the first time tonight. So far, so good! We took down the cradle from our room, so there's no going back now. I am amazed at how quickly the time has passed, and can not believe my little girl turned 4 months yesterday. Natalie amazed me with her strength yesterday. She flipped onto her tummy and was able to spin herself around on the carpet nearly 180 degrees! It took her a while, but I just sat back with my camera and watched. Below are a couple of pictures I took right before she spun. I am going to try and put together a collage of the whole thing, but haven't had the time to get it done yet!

Vacation

2009-01-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

Our family is so blessed! We were able to stay at a beautiful vacation home for the last week with our extended family. The children each hit milestones while we were away. Caleb is now an expert at pedaling his trike. We braved the frigid temperatures for a few walks. He had so much fun riding around the trails surrounding the home. Natalie can now roll over from her back to her tummy! She loves the new vantage point. We are also enjoying her new found voice...she will giggle, coo, and try hard to explain many things to us! Her smile lights up the room.

Precious Baby Girl!

2009-01-13T22:13:00.000-08:00

I Love Hats!

2009-01-13T15:28:00.000-08:00

Sleepytime and Batman

2009-01-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today was a crazy, stressful day... I tried to calm things down this evening by putting Caleb in his favorite Batman jammies and turning on relaxing music. Here are some pictures of what followed.

These are a few of my favorite things...

2009-01-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

I love the feeling of my baby sleeping on my shoulder. It is calming to feel her little breaths, the heaviness of her entire weight entrusted to me, and the look on her angelic little closed-eyed face.

I love the way my son curls up on my lap in the morning. We sit under a blanket together and watch Handy Manny, Micky Mouse Playhouse, and Little Einsteins. I love how he will get up and dance around to the "hot dog" song. And beg me to play it for him again. And again.

I love the evenings we are able to spend as a family. Relaxing in our living room, eating dinner together. I love when my son begs for "both" to put him to bed. We all sing the night night song "Jesus Loves Me" and pray.

Thank you Lord for my family. For they are a few of my favorite things.

Rainy Day Play Dough

2009-01-08T21:37:00.000-08:00

Caleb has been going stir crazy with all of the rainy weather. I got out some play dough today that he received for his birthday. He loved playing with it!

Christmas Creativity

2009-01-07T16:03:00.001-08:00

This year Caleb was old enough to start understanding a little bit about Christmas! He learned that it is baby Jesus' birthday. He loved to point out baby Jesus on all of my nativity sets around the house. Caleb also helped grandma make some special Christmas cookies. It is fun to watch his creative juices flowing as he learns the process....

First you cut out the dough....

Then decorate with icing and sprinkles...

It takes some concentration....

Finally you get to eat!

And Share...

Natalie is watching her big brother, learning for next year.

Hmm...

2009-01-07T14:51:00.000-08:00

Well I tried to post some pictures from Christmas today, but I keep getting an internal error with the pictures...I think the blogger site is having some difficulties! I will try again tomorrow. Today is windy and rainy. A great day to stay in the house with the kids and do crafts.

A New Adventure

2009-01-06T15:32:00.000-08:00

Here is the little tornado that whirls around my house each day! Caleb loves to tell us what he sees... choo choo trains, helicopters, and cars are some of his favorites. What a joy it is to finally hear what he has been thinking about all this time.

This is my sweet Natalie. I took a few moments while Caleb napped to snap some new pictures. She is 3 months old now and has discovered how nice her hands taste! I am amazed at how quickly my children are growing.