Happy Valentine's Day

2 years ago Matt and I celebrated Valentine's Day in the hospital. 

{seriously!}

I had my second pulmonary embolism, and  was attached to a heparin IV.  Grace, then known as Baby Girl, was doing fabulously, though the pregnancy was far from easy.

Every day, just to get out of my hospital room, I'd stroll through the hospital gift shop and cafeteria.

On one trip through the gift shop, I came across a Willow Tree Figurine of a family. 

{Do you know the Willow Tree collection? I'm not a knick-knack person, but I do have a few of their figurines, and they're all very special to me, for their own reasons}.

So, right then, I shopped for Matt for Valentine's Day, in the hospital gift shop, while pulling my IV pole.

Here's the letter I wrote him to go with the family figure. 
2 years later, it's still so completely my heart.

Matt, I love you.  Always and Forever.  
Happy Valentine's Day.

My wonderful Love,

18 weeks ago, I had no idea how much 2 pink lines would change our lives. Over the past 5 months you have shown your relentless commitment to me and our marriage. (You have proven that you were serious about that “in sickness and health” part of our vows! ;-)) You have been endlessly compassionate and understanding. For months you have taken care of me, of Grant, and our house, showing that quiet strength that I love so much about you. This is not the path I would have chosen for this pregnancy to take, but I trust that the Lord will use it for His purposes and to display His Glory.

So, Happy Valentine’s Day, My Sweet! I wasn’t planning on shopping for you in the hospital gift shop, but I saw this figurine and thought it was just perfect for us right now. I feel like if our marriage can survive these past months, we can do anything together! I thought this looking at this figurine could always remind us of God’s grace on our marriage during this pregnancy – as He’s protected me and Baby Girl, and has given you the grace, love,and kindness to care for me so tirelessly for so long.

I love you so much, Matt! I love the way your eyes crinkle up when you laugh. I love the way your quiet strength shines through even the most difficult situations. I love the way you handle whatever God gives us with a quiet, steadfast faith. I love you, I love you, I love you – I don’t think I could say it enough.

I’m hoping that the next 14 weeks of pregnancy are much, much smoother, but even if they’re not, I know that we can get through it, together.

You hold my heart, always.

Love,

Anna

Confused?

Yes, totally switching blogs.  

Back to my personal blog, that I've had for years.
but sharing it with all of you now.

Whoever "you" may be!

Afternoon Snack

Snacktime.

{do you know how to cut one?}

Totally missing African pineapple right now. Well, really, totally missing Africa in general right now. 

But, I'm playing with the kids.  Cutting snacks up.  Prepping supper.  

But wishing I could share my food with some of the orphans that are starving.  

Especially one little boy, who will forever have my heart.  

Praying for him, and the rest of the 147 million orphans worldwide.  

So thankful I got to hold and love a few of them!

Worship in chains

Today we went to "M".

A place where they place "child prisoners".
{none of these children have done anything to deserve being there.}

or, where parents can simply drop of their children, never to see them again.
They get one shirt. one pair of pants. Maybe a mattress.
If they do get a mattress, it's 23 years old.
peed on for 23 years.

More to come on the awful, vile conditions, but I wanted to share a clip of them worshipping our Savior with you.

What true worship. Worship because of Who God IS, not because of what He's given to us.
Amazing.

Moments

 Sick Grant and myself, waiting for the dr.


favorite moment from the day: snuggling with my favorite four-year-old at the dr.'s office. reading Cat and the Hate while waiting.  In all of his congestion he was reading along with me and chatting about the pictures.  As bad as I feel that he's sick, the {1 1/2 hour} wait for the dr. gave me such good time with him before I leave for Africa!

[re] learned today: our lives are so, so short.  Choose to do stuff that will count for eternity!

said one million & thirty six times today: I know you don't, buddy. 

{in response to "I not feel well, momma}.

frivolous thing i'm most thankful for right now: Diet Coke.

song i'm listening to right now:Lead Me by Sanctus Real

[okay....now it's your turn! you answer these 5 things.]

Monday

 gracie. 

A week from today, I'll be in Africa.

Kind of mind-blowing, really.  I'll be across the globe, serving, for His Glory.  

My to-do list is long.  Today I'm definitely feeling the pressure of leaving in 5 days.

My heart overflows, too.  Overflows with thankfulness that I just get to GO.  With hurt for the orphaned and oppressed.  With anger at injustice.  With awe at the God we serve.

As I tackle the to-do list, it's with excitement. anticipation. 

praying for God to use me, use our whole team, to be a light in darkness.  

to be used in some small way to share the love of Christ.

Off to make soup. and enchiladas. and pack. and clean. and read. and organize. and play.

Hope you're having a good Monday!

Silly Gracie

Leaving for Africa soon.

Although I'm beyond-words excited, I am going to miss my sweet kiddos terribly.

 Soaking up all their sweet silliness before I go.

Moo

This girl

loves her moo.

So much, she even wants to eat with it.

Oh, how my heart loves the way she loves her moo!

Happy Monday Morning!

 

:my newest favorite tights on the cutest baby girl:

I sit, with my coffee, next to a not-so-baby-boy who's also still waking up. Our plans for today?

Laundry

Combines and Thomas the Trains

Closet Organization
(yes, I'm serious about the closet stuff).

Moos and Doggies

play doh

physical therapy for the moo-lover

groceries

and a whole lot of giggling and zooming around the house!

Better finish my coffee before all of the fun begins! 

And blooooooow!

After the sick left this household {that has had way more than our fair share this winter of it!}, we were able to celebrate our favorite-4-year-old's birthday.

So, happy 4th birthday, sweet Grant!

You are the one that made me a mom!

You are the one that made the years of infertility treatments and losses so very worth it. You are the one that made me sing the miracles of swaddling and swinging. {and swinging some more}. You are the one that made me educated and confident about breastfeeding. You are the one that made me love pushing dump trucks and vroom-vroom-vrooming cars.

You are the one that makes me make willingly make scrambled eggs at 6:45 in the morning. You are the one that makes my heart melt when you scrunch up your nose when trying to be serious. You are the one that makes me so proud of how energetic and willing you are to try new things. You are the one that makes my heart melt when I see how compassionate you are to your friends.

You, Grant, are the boy I cherish. I adore how easy going and chatty you are, and how excited you get, just about life.

I love your pure silliness, your love for all things messy, and your sweet, sensitive heart. 

 May the next year bring your heart closer to the One who loves you the Most.

Four

This sweet boy of ours is four today.



And he woke up throwing up.

Poor guy!!

So, we moved the birthday festivities around and he sat around, in his fuzzy-jammies-from-last-winter-that-he-loves-so-much-that-we-still-squeeze-him-into-them, watching Curious George and sipping clear liquids.

I loved on him as well as I could today, getting him the food he wanted (a little bit of white cheese and a little bit of yellow cheese and some bread to make it real yummy okay mom?), and snuggled him when he wanted.

Not the birthday we had planned for him, but my heart was still so thankful that I could be here, taking care of my sick, sweet boy.

The sweet boy, who, when recently making meatballs with me, just blurts out: God isn't here.

Caught of guard, I paused and responded, "nope, God is here...we just can't see him. God's always with us and takes care of us."

Grant stared back at me, and in his sweet way of furrowing up his nose and eyebrows said, "ooooh, yes, God IS here.

Let's share meatballs with him".



Somehow, I think God would love meatballs from a just-turned-four-year-old.

Monday Happy List

What I'm Happy for Today:

Time to be at home all day today to organize the family room. One room down, whole house to go! How fabulous it feels to have at least one room {pretty much} organized!


A husband who gladly hangs curtains for me, and patiently moves the curtain rod "down more, over more, the other way" for the gazillionth time because he loves me.



A Christmas craft that gave me special one on one time with Grant while his sister was napping. How meticulous he was putting the "decorates" on the foam trees!



A day of {for-the-most-part} happy play and sharing between the kiddos! How I love having kids close together!


And lastly, I'm so happy for a Baby Girl who loves being held, and who loves her momma. :heart:

Sunday evening

We kind of played hooky from church this morning.

Yes, I'm a pastor's wife.

Eek!

Really, we (the kids and I) just stayed home this morning - DH was preaching at another church, and though I was planning on going with him, the past week of traveling finally caught up with us and we needed to stay.at.home!

So, I cooked!

I came across The Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast Recipe.

{it's a big hunk of meat. I kinda get intimidated by them!}

But, I followed her step-by-step directions, and it came out fabulously. Tender, rich, juicy...the kids were almost shoveling it in. You need to try it! It's not at all dry or tough - it is excellent!

{carrots and onions on top of the hunk-o-beef}.



The littlest kept herself occupied in the pantry while I was browning the beef.



(sorry for the blur. it happens with a fast toddler and a too-slow shutter speed!)

And I loved that dinner was already to go, so we could spend some time outside this evening, and just come in and immediately eat!




pointing at an AIRPLANE!
kicking a ball!
throwing it HIGHER HIGHER!
Intent on finding something in the grass!

Baked Potato Soup, Trial 1

Grant had a rough couple of days last week - I think the 4 staples-in-the-head finally caught up with him!

Tuesday morning he was kind of out-of-sorts, so I thought a quick trip outside would help us all feel better. And, I had heard RAVE reviews about a certain potato soup recipe.

So, we went to a local grocery store Grant LOVES.

{who wouldn't love riding in a race car cart? and,they got free slushies from the cafe clerk!!}




I stocked up on potato soup ingredients - potatoes, onions, chicken stock, green onions, milk.

I got the Baby Girl settled into her nap, and Grant was settled into CARS {the greatest preschooler movie of all time}, resting on our bed, with his blankie and some Tylenol.

And then I started the Potato Soup!

The recipe was kinda involved, and start to finish it took me 1 1/2 hours! I l-o-v-e cooking, but 1 1/2 hours was a bit much, even for me.

So, after all this prep, I was excepting excellence, but...

My old stand-by potato soup recipe -

my mom's recipe! -

is absolutely, positively, better.

no question.

So, I'll make my mom's recipe this upcoming week and share it with you! Here's the bummer potato soup - it was okay, but definitely not worth sharing! So, all of you potato soup lovers, stay tuned!



{and, yes, the kiddos are in their jammies - mismatched jammies at that! I figured 4 staples in the head is an allowable reason for jammies in public}.

Perfect Pancakes and Waffles!

Our little guy had a rather traumatic weekend {ending with 4 staples in his head}, so I wanted to make him one of his favorite meals tonight - waffles! He l-o-v-e-s them!

So, here's my favorite recipe that I use for both pancakes and waffles! For our family, this makes enough for leftovers - which I freeze and then just pop out of the freezer, microwave or toast briefly, and then my favorite little guy has his favorite breakfast in a flash!

{and, fyi, on the menu for supper tomorrow - my FAVE tortilla soup!}

Perfect Pancakes and Waffles:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Mix together dry ingredients.
2. Add wet ingredients.
3. Stir.
4. Make pancakes or waffles. I have to spray my waffle maker to keep them from sticking!

Enjoy!

Birthday Bliss

I know this is a food blog, but my 30th birthday was Thursday. The entire day was just, well, delicious, so I had to share it with you.

sleeping in.
a wonderful gift card to a gorgeous spa!
delicious lunch with my husband and children.
a gorgeous, crisp fall day.
walk through the park with the family.

It was a beatiful way to enter a new decade - with my sweet family.

{30!}

I almost feel like a real grown-up now.

New Recipe for the week

I'm thinking that this recipe is going to be a must-try for this week's menu.

Bacon.
Potatoes.
Cheddar.

I think those are sure-fire ingredients for a stellar side-dish!

What's on your menu for the week? anything new? or anything fun for fall?

I'm going through my soup favorites to see what I want for this week. So excited for fall, and for fall cooking!

Sweet Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I was looking for a snack to take to Bible Study last night {no one told me that my Bible Study friends had planned to bring cake for my 30th!} when I came across this pumpkin recipe. It's just the hint of fall here - is it cool for you? Fall is just my {absolutely!} favorite season.

sweatshirts.
baked potato soup.
sweaters with leggings and boots.
cool mornings at the park.
red and golden leaves.
apple crisp.
brisk weather to run outside.
pumpkin spice coffee.
pumpkin pie.
Thanksgiving.
Pottery Barn's fall catalog.

{Back to the pumpkin cupcakes}.

They turned out SO FABULOUSLY. I think they're more of a sweet muffin than a "cupcake" - the texture is a bit dense for a cupcake. Semantics aside, they're just fabulous. I think they'd be perfect for a fall brunch. They bake so beautifully - one friend at Bible study thought I had bought them.

Recipe: (I halved this recipe and got exactly 24 mini muffins).

2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temp
3/4 cup milk
1 cup pumpkin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*. Line 24 mini muffins with paper liners.
2. Mix flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda together. Set aside.
3. Beat 1/2 cup butter, the white sugar and brown sugar together until mixture is light and fluffy (it will be noticeably lighter in color). Add the room temp eggs one at a time, letting each blend well before adding the next one.
4. Stir in the milk and the pumpkin.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups. (for mini muffins, I fill mine almost full).
6. Bake in the preheated oven for about 11-13 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.
7. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

I halved this recipe, too, since I halved the muffin recipe.

{this stuff is GOOD. so good}.

1 8-ounce package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar a little at a time until smooth, then add the vanilla and cinnamon and beat until fluffy! Frost the cupcakes when cool!

Think you'll like them? Let me know what you've been baking for the start of fall!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

So, do you see the {most-of-the-time} disclaimer in the description of the title? That's where this recipe falls! Sooo yummy, but not entirely healthy. But, hey, everything in moderation, right? {although I'm not so sure how much *moderation* we all practiced when eating these last night! :P}

This what the first time G1 has liked any mashed potatoes - so, actually, this recipe got made 2x within the past week! {more than I've made mashed potatoes in the past 3 months!}

The Process:

1. Dice about 6-8 smallish red potatoes. G1 absolutely loved helping me with this process! I had to score the potato sections for him, and then with his kid-friendly knife he could "cut" the rest.





2. Place in a small stock pot. Cover with water, bring to a boil.




3. Boil for about 7-8 minutes, until the potatoes are fall apart when you pierce them with a fork.

4. Drain and then dump them back in the same pot.

5. Sprinkle the top with garlic powder.




6. Add about 1/4 cup milk, 4 tablespoons butter, and about 1/4 cup sour cream. (see, I told ya about the {not-so-healthy} disclaimer! :P

7. Sprinkle with kosher salt {about 1 teaspoon} and pepper.

8. Using a large serving fork, mash them in the pan. I just stir and stir and stir and press the back of the fork into the potatoes - depending how smooth you like them. We like this style of potatoes kinda lumpy!




Enjoy! My husband, myself, and both Gs ate ALL of these!

Caramelized Butternut Squash

Thanks to Ina Garten for this fabulous recipe!! It was a little prep-time-intensive (probably took me 30 minutes to get it in the oven), but it was SOOO worth it. Our whole family ate it, and G2 was using *both* of her cute, chubby little hands to get it in her mouth as fast as she possibly could! {seriously - shoveling in squash! who woulda thought?}

So, cut the ends off of and peel a medium-sized butternut squash. A veggie peeler is super easy! Spoon the seeds out, and dice into about 1" - 1 1/2" cubes.



Line a 9 x13 pan with aluminum foil (easy clean-up!) and spray with cooking spray. spread the squash cubes out on the pan.

Mix 3 tablespoons unsalted melted butter, 1/8 cup brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Withe clean hands, mix together the butter mixture onto the squash. Spread the squash out on a single layer on the pan again.

Bake at 400* for about 45-50 minutes, or until squash is fork tender and the sauce begins to caramelize.

Enjoy! {we ate it with green beans and brown rice!}