The Gift of Nothing

I always say how much I love getting books and my mom gave us the sweetest story this Christmas. It is called "The Gift of Nothing" by PatricK McDonnell. If you have a chance to read it or share it with someone, do it. It's amazing how great "nothing" is...

Thank you so much mom for this book! I love you...

One of the coolest gifts ever!

My sister made these onesies for Ryder and I just had to brag on her for how creative she is. We have been joking that Ryder has his business attire for a full work week. She used iron on material and the stitched the edges. I can't wait to put our little man in his new outfits. He has the most creative auntie EVER! Thank you Cole for the time you put into his gift!

What do people do with out sisters?

Can you say "casual friday"?

Christmas time=Family time

Well, we are just settling in from being gone with family for Christmas. First we were in Santa Maria with Kit's family and then we went to spend Christmas with my family in Redlands. It was such a great time to connect with people that we love...

It's exciting to think that next year we will have our niece and Ryder with us for Christmas!

We love you all and were so glad to be together for Christmas...

I have never been good at gift giving. I am really sensitive and self conscious about it and Christmas time seems to increase that insecurity by the truck loads. Kit can be especially hard for me because of trying to keep surprises and hiding things and getting him that PERFECT present and trying to make sure that he has no idea...

I am so excited because this year I was able to pull off the surprise and get him something (with the help of parents...) that he LOVED... a nail gun and air compressor kit!

I hid it in the house and the way he found it was a 12 step scavenger hunt.

(At one point we were both running through the house, and I thought it was funny because I was as into it as he was and I actually planned each step...)

So if you have any projects for my Mr Fix-It, just let him know. He has already made a list of projects that he can't wait to tackle, which is half the fun of a gift like this.

Thank you so much Family for helping to get Kit something that he loved!

The Jesus Storybook Bible

Merry Christmas!

May you and your family truly enjoy celebrating our Jesus' birth. What a reason to celebrate!

"A Severe Mercy"

I am always more nostalgic this time of year, however, being 6 months pregnant has put that into overdrive. With the holidays always comes the closing of a year and reflection, and then the New Year brings anticipation and goal setting.

Our anniversary is January 4, so Kit and I always start the year in assessing how we are doing and where we are emotionally, mentally and spiritually and then making goals for our marriage for the upcoming year.

This year, in anticipation of some of those conversations, and thinking about impending parenthood, I pulled out one of my all time favorite books. I read it in highschool and then again when we were engaged and our early marriage. I don't think that I have read anything that has been so influential to me for our marriage.

The title is "A Severe Mercy" by Sheldon Vanauken

It's an incredible story and I really can't describe how good it is.

So this year, in reading through it again, I had an idea for a Christmas themed tradition that has turned out to be more significant than I had originally anticipated.

The goal of doing it was to prepare us for our anniversary conversations and evaluations about what we want for our marriage.

I went through the book and looked at the themes that Kit and I had underlined when we read the book together, things we wanted for our marriage, and I printed them out on the computer and attached them to a little Christmas tree that goes in our bedroom.

At least twice a day, when I am getting ready for the day or getting ready for bed, I see those themes and I am reminded of what Kit and I want for our marriage .

It has made me more aware of how much I love my Kit and all of the things that we are able to share together and how much I trust him and really what an amazing friend and teammate he is to me. It also makes me aware of things that I want to grow in and areas that I want to be better for Kit in.

Kit, thank you so much for the "shining barrier" that you have helped to enforce for our marriage, with total trust and total sharing, and helping to protect it from "creeping separateness". I love you so...

Thank you for sharing life with me!

"Cycling Santa"

When we were married, Kit's parents gave us ornaments that they had collected for him over the years. They are so fun to pull out each year and each has a special memory for Kit.

However, there is one ornament that just seems a little too silly to me...

We call him Cycling Santa.

So because Kit wants him displayed and I am not too into having him on our tree, we compromised.

We created a game where we HIDE Cycling Santa and then the other person has to find him and once he is found, he has to be hidden again.

Cycling Santa has been in our fish supplies, hanging from the inside of light fixtures, in medicine cabinets, bookshelves, our pantry, in our nativity scene...

(Kit is going to have to talk to Jesus about that one...)

It's funny how I didn't want to look AT him on the tree, however, we have loved looking FOR him around the house.

Needless to say, this is a tradition that we plan to repeat.

(Here he is once I found him in our hall closet hanging out with our jackets.)

Christmas time with family...

We had our annual family Christmas celebration with my mom's side of the family. We have been doing it since birth and it just FEELS like Christmas. I never have as good of food or laugh as hard or feel as loved as when I am with my family.

Family~

Thank you so much for loving on us so well and so deeply. I appreciate your vulnerability and transparency. Ryder is so lucky to have such amazing uncles and aunties and grandparents. We are so thankful to live life with you.

Here is the group shots, normal and silly...

(however, as a group, we could not be further from normal...)

We love you guys!

ps: cooking is just so great when we are together...

Pregnancy Updates...

We are six months today and it has really been a great so far. People have asked about our pregnancy so I wanted to give a little feedback.

~I have felt him moving since between week 17 and 18 and that has been the BEST part of pregnancy. (I mean, he moves a TON and when I told my mom that she said, "Oh my gosh, you're having a YOU!")

~My nausea stopped around week 10. I get pretty tired but I've been able to deal. 12 hour shifts can be a little long. I hit a very tired wall around 2 pm. Than I eat something salty and pick right back up again.

~I get emotional and if I think that it is at ALL pregnancy hormone driven, (like I can't give a good reason why I am crying or mad or sad...) I really try to pull myself together and talk myself down. If I can't pull it together before the tears come, then I just tell Kit that my eyes are sweating, that it happens a lot in pregnancy and he shouldn't worry about it. (Then, inevitably, I cry even harder and he just sits with me and holds me. I really married up!) This has happened once so far...

~I have cravings for anything salty. I mean, ANYTHING salty. Water retention, table for one! Sweets just don't sound good to me at all. (For those that knew me pre-pregnancy this should not come as a surprise to you...)

~I read to Ryder every night and he is the most active in the morning and at night so Kit has actually SEEN him move when I am lying flat. (That is such a trip for both of us!)

~Kit talks to him and he actually moves to where Kit's voice is. It melts my heart every time.

Thank you to our friends and family that have asked about how we are doing and are praying for us and our little man. We are excited for him to meet all of you!

We have travel dates!

My sister and brother-in-law will be traveling to Ethiopia on January 5 to go get our little niece.

Thank you so much for our close friends and family that have been waiting with us. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers though this whole process.

She will be here January 15th and I will have pictures for you of the MOST PRECIOUS little girl ever!

Advent calendars...

Counting down to the day that we celebrate Jesus' birthday has always been a special part of the holiday season for me. I know that people do it in so many different ways and Kit and I have been thinking of how we want to do it as a family tradition. Here is what we have come up with.

I made these little stockings a couple of years ago based on an idea I had seen in Martha Stewart's magazine. I used a small card board template and traced out the stockings on basic felt that I got for under 99 cents a yard. then I just sewed some ribbon that I had onto the stocking and then used my pinking shears to finish of the edges.

I had originally thought that we would use them for ornaments, but then our other ornaments filled our little tree, so we canned the idea. But I still had 25 of these little stockings.

So this year, we decided that we would make it part of an advent calendar.

I used an ice pick (who knew that my mom would have one...) to make the hole and then looped ornament hooks on them so that they would hang on a tree. We will put them on a table tree. I still haven't attached the numbers yet, but I haven't found a label that I love. I figure I have time, we are starting this next Christmas...

I figured that it was pretty versatile. We could put parts of the Christmas story in each one, or little candies or tiny treasures, but the idea that we like the most was putting Christmas specific activities that you can do as a family in each one. Things like looking at Christmas lights, having a hot chocolate party, calling grandparents and singing carols to them, baking for neighbors and stuff like that.

Ok, I know that you think that I am getting way ahead of myself if you think that I want Ryder to do these next year...

Our little man will be about 7-8 months old next Christmas, so I don't anticipate him doing much caroling, but we thought it would be fun to lay the ground work so that when he is old enough, this is just a normal part of his Christmas routine...

Ta Da!

So here is the finished product from our little project yesterday.

The online tutorial that Obsessively Stitching did was awesome.

Here is the dish towel (we got them on sale at Marshals 3 towels for 4 dollars)

Here is me actually sewing. I have my moments, I am just hoping that stuff for our little man's room goes this smoothly...

My nephew modeling the finished product and the pockets that I decided to add at the last minute. So there are crayon holders and two pockets for papers or any other little treasures that little boys seem to put in their pockets...

My mom modeling the apron that my sister made for our niece.

If you have a chance to try this for the little people in your life, I would do it.

It was pretty easy and inexpensive, plus we had fun doing it!

Both of my nephews LOVED them and they did not want to take them off...

For little artists...

My sister found this idea on another blog and we are going to try to tackle it today. We are really excited about it. The woman who came up with it is a GENIUS! She has the best ideas. So we are going to try to tackle this artists apron for the little people in our lives.

(OK, so Ryder is only 12 inches long and weighs about a pound and oh yah, he's not born yet, but he is still getting one... I am going to be ready when he says he wants to color!)

Here is the link:

http://obsessivelystitching.blogspot.com

Thank you Obsessively Stitching!

Kit's dream

Kit came across this photo on a cichlid (African cichlids are Kit's favorite fish) website. This 30 foot tank was just placed at the Radisons Hotel in New Jersey. It is 8 feet deep and 5 feet wide. We tried to find out exactly how many gallons this sucker is, but no luck for us.

My husband is drooling.

(Note the size of the kid in the picture...)

Just had to share for all those fish lovers out there!

Christmas stories for kids...

I LOVE children's books and Christmas specific stories are no exception.

A great place for ideas for specific holiday stories is to go to a book store like Barnes and Noble and in their children's section, they feature a display with certain books pertaining to a time of the year. It could be a holiday or something like going back to school... It is such a fun place to peruse, especially with little people.

Here are a few of our family's favorites...

I hope that you enjoy these stories as much as we do...

Hooked...

Now that we have transformed our guest room into Ryder's room, we are trying to make the fish room and futon a little more comfortable for guests.

We plan to have a few when the little man arrives.

One of the things that I wanted to add was a place for guests to put their wet towels. Kit likes to drape his over the door, but then you can't shut the door, (which generally you need a little privacy if a bath towel is involved in whatever you are doing.)

So we found a solution.

We added this hook to the back of the door, and the little sucker holds 5 pounds and has been getting the job done. Plus it came in a metal finish so you would never know that it will come off with out any permanent damage to the door.

So now when you come to stay with us, you will have a place to hang your hat (or a wet towel... Heck, hang what ever you want, you're our guest!)

Lot's of Smiles...

One of Kit's favorite things is homemade frozen cookie dough. My sister always has some on hand and it has become a must have on hand item in our house. Thanks Cole... His two top choices are oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip. I have tried a couple of different oatmeal raisin recipe's but the one that seems to be the biggest hit with my Kit is the one on the lid of the Quaker Oats canister.

So for the last couple of years, I have a routine. I make a regular batch, then use my handy dandy cookie scooper from the Pampered Chef, and then put it in a freezer safe tubber ware. Then Kit eats it.

(Sometimes we make them for company, which is so nice to have fresh home made cookie dough on hand.)

It is so fun to tell him that a whole fresh batch is ready for him.

I love putting a smile on that man's face.

The Tangible Kingdom

Our friends Mark and Jamie gave us this book at Thanksgiving and it has been such an amazing perspective on church and community. It has challenged how I view church and ultimately how we should "do" church. I love things that challenge me so I wanted to recommend it.

It also has a small group guide, but I have just been reading the book. I am about 1/4 of the way in and would strongly recommend this book already.

Thanks Thrashes!

Making progress...

We made our FIRST step toward making the front yard a little bit better. We got our tree and planted it where the old birch tree was. We chose a tabebuia Ipe. It's a flowering tree that has blossoms that smell like cotton candy. We are excited to watch this guy grow, sans any CATS!

When I finally got around to the "after" picture, it was pouring outside.

But you get the idea.

We will keep you updated on our progress. this is going to be one of those "slowly but surely" projects I am sure...

Christmas celebrations...

We had our annual Christmas party with our friends from college last night. We had a raclette party for dinner. (It's the idea of fondue where your food cooks in the center of the table, except it's with the broiler and grill...) We had two raclette makers and 11 people and it made for an incredible dinner and conversation time. The Warks did an amazing job hosting this event!

Also, our friend Chris is back from South Africa for a few months and we had not seen him in almost 10 months. It was so good to connect with him.

These are friends that have definitely become family to us and we just love that they are in our lives. We look forward to many more Christmas' together.

She's Ours!

This post is a little on the late side but we have been so excited that I forgot to actually blog about it...

November 23, 2009, while at the reception for my grandpa's memorial service, we got the news that we passed court in Ethiopia and that our baby is ours!

We can't wait to get that little munch here.

(...and yes, I said OURS! My emotional boundaries are very fuzzy when it comes to stuff like this. Fuzzy, barely there, whatever!)

Kit and I feel like WE passed court and could not be happier!

We will keep you posted...

We found it!

We found fabric that we love for Ryder's room! We are so excited about it, that we just had to show you...

I can't wait to show you how we tie it all in together. It is all coming together and we are having so much planning for our little man's arrival. We are 22 weeks today!

Stay tuned for my sewing skills, (or lack there of...)

Thanks Mama Manifesto!

I love the blog Mama Manifesto. It is so good! I have had so much fun following it. What amazing women! Well, last night I made a recipe that I had gotten from their blog and it turned out to be a HUGE hit with Kit.

(He's not picky, but when he loves something, that means a lot to me...)

So here is the recipe... Enjoy!

Spaghetti Carbonara

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
3 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick strips
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lowfat sour cream
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup pasta water
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
1/2 pound whole wheat pasta

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
2. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and add onion. Sauté for 2 minutes, add bacon, and cook another 8-10 minutes until bacon and onion are well-browned. Transfer mixture to a paper towel and let cool while pasta cooks.
3. Add pasta to water and cook according to package directions, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.
4. While pasta is cooking, whisk together cheese, egg yolks, sour cream, vinegar and onion mixture. In a separate small bowl, when pasta is nearly done, whisk together a tablespoon of the egg mixture with a tablespoon of pasta water and pour back into the egg mixture. Whisk remaining 3 tablespoons pasta water into the egg mixture.
5. Drain pasta and return it to the pot. Toss with the egg mixture and parsley and serve immediately.

Christmas trees and family traditions...

This Christmas will be the 6th that Kit and I have shared as a married couple and we always have so much fun with this time of year, making it special for our family specifically.

Here are some of the traditions that we have done over the last few years that involve decorating our tree.

We were given special hand blown ornaments for our wedding, which was January 4th. One is a box of ornaments that each have a special meaning and we talk about each one as we place it on our tree.

We then have a special ornament that was given to us that has a special note from my aunt and uncle. It always tops our tree. The note says that as we get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus, to take time to thank the Lord for each other, for another year together and all the blessings in our lives. I cry each time we read it.

Then we have special ornaments from Kit's family that remind him of his childhood. We have fun putting those up, too.

When we were engaged, I made laminated cards of the Christmas story and we read them before we put them on our tree. I have this hope that we will use them with Ryder as we set up our nativity scene, and then they will go on the tree.

We laugh every year as we decorate our tree. This year Kit was very much in the holiday spirit. I made a special dinner before we went to get our tree. After we got our tree, we went and looked at Christmas lights in Fullerton, which is always so fun. There is a home that coordinates it's lights with a radio station and there is a whole show. We have so much fun watching it! Then we headed home to decorate the tree while Kit had two glasses of eggnog, his holiday favorite, non alcoholic, mixed with milk.

We would love to hear the special traditions that you have with your family, too!

Happy Holidays!