Christmas Day

Well this has been quite an eventful Christmas to say the least. I am typing this from my phone on my makeshift bed at Largo Regional Medical Center. Let's start from the beginning.

Like any child, Liam woke up early and was ready for Christmas. He successfully woke everyone up with some squealing and grunting. As Dylans family watched in person, my parents watched on ichat as Liam opened his presents. Well he really could care less about him opening them but enjoyed playing with them. Then we called and woke up my bro and SIL and told them to iChat too. This was a highlight. My whole family ichatting together. Liam went down for a nap right after that and we continued the unwrapping of gifts. My husband was very creative in his wrapping this year.

Things were looking great. We had a great time opening gifts hanging out with the fam and were starting to get ready for a Christmas dinner on the beach with Dylans extended fam. Then Dylan started feeling ill. Afters while it started getting serious so he went to the ER with his parents. At first they thought it was appendicitis but he had cat scan and nothing showed up. So after hours of waiting and two shots of morphine he finally was able to rest. His family has a history with stomach issues so they are keeping him overnight with the hopes to have a GI specialist see him tomorrow.

So that's where we are right now. And as if this couldn't get better his vents make a lot if noise when the heat kicks in so we have to turn the heat up high, allow the room to get really warm and then turn it off so we can get a little sleep before it turns on again. This is why I'm up at 1:22 am.

As I think of what a bummer this is and how inconvenient it is to us, I am reminded of the huge inconvenience Christ went through to become one of us.

Happy Incarnation!

Celebrating Advent

This year I really wanted to celebrate advent. I went out and bought a wreath and candles and downloaded some readings for each day. It started off strong but slowly fizzled out. I think I went a whole week without lighting a candle. Luckily I give myself a lot of grace these days. Even though I forgot a couple days here and there, advent has been with me everyday. This year more than ever the reality of Christ's incarnation is sinking in. As I rock Liam to sleep at night and sing him Christmas carols I can't help but think about Jesus as a baby. I think about Mary holding him and nursing him. I think about how he brought delight to them as Liam brings to Dylan and I. I think about his first steps as we try to help Liam with his. I think about his first words as Liam only grunts at us. It's all becoming very real to me. Emmanuel, God with us.

One of the songs that I've been stuck on this Advent season is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. I literally have sung this everyday. This, along with the readings, has really helped me focus on the real meaning of Christmas. Not only of the hope that Jesus was then, but the hope he is for us now.

There are like 7 stanzas, here are the four I'm most familiar with

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Miami Weekend and Birthday

This past weekend we went to Miami to visit my family and friends. It was our first time going back since we moved in August. We were a little scarred of the drive because Liam hates the car and his carseat, but this weekend he turned a new leaf. He fell asleep in the car on the way there and back AND transferred to bed without freaking out. Bigtime milestone. We enjoyed spending time with my family just hanging out. We actually got to go out to South Beach Saturday night and eat at our favorite restaurant, Fratelli la Bufala. It was just as amazing as I remembered. We were surrounded by Italians and I spent a good portion of our meal eavesdropping on others conversations to see if I could figure out what they were saying. It really did feel like we were in Italy. Then we headed out to Lincoln road to people watch and walk off our meal. It was there that we saw the most beautiful clothing store All Saints.
Dylan and I were just in awe of the design, ambiance, and leather. I was that person that walked around taking pictures because I wanted everything. Materialism to the maxxx. We ended our weekend going back to our amazing church, Crossbridge, and having lunch with pastors, friends, and students. It felt great to be back and hang out with the people we love.

Then yesterday was my 27th birthday. I really can't believe it. How did I become and adult...with a husband...and a baby?! Weird. Well to start the day off right Dylan and I got a couples massage. How did he weasel his way into my birthday celebration? Actually, Dylan's department at work was taking the day off and going to the Ritz Carlton for some rest and relaxation. So we were able to get massages and join his team for lunch and some hang out time at the Spa. They do this every year and this year it just happened to fall on my birthday. We had sushi for dinner with our little buddy and after he was asleep we went to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It was a great relaxing day with my boys and I loved it.

Thanksgiving Photos

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving. We didn't do a good job taking pictures because we were so busy. And none of them are edited, oh well.

Neither of us had cooked a turkey before so we were a little intimidated.

Disgusting

We almost dropped the turkey putting it in

Our cutie all dressed up. He busted his eye the night before and started getting sick that morning so it was a great day for him.

Our fancy place settings

The turkey was beautiful. Dylan had already started carving it before we realized that we hadn't taken a picture of it yet.

The hostesses.

Christmas stockings

My project this week has been Christmas stockings. I saw some on Etsy that I liked and decided to try to make them. Dylan's stocking is made out of burlap and some wool. It was super easy to make and my best sewing job to date. I was really happy with how it turned out. Mine on the other hand was a little more difficult. I had an idea but couldn't find a picture of what I wanted to do so I just made it up as I went. After many days and hours of trying to figure out the flower arrangement, I just now committed and sewed everything down. I really like it. It's rustic, girly, and vintagey (sp?).

Now I just need to Liam's. His is going to be an elf shoe with some bells. It should be the easiest one

Post Thanksgiving

It has been a long time since I've written because so much has been going on. Last week, Dylan and I hosted our first family holiday. It was great to not have to go anywhere for a change. We had a full house for thanksgiving, 11 people in all. My sister-in-law and I had the brilliant idea of cooking the meal (which neither of us had done before). It was a lot of work and took careful planning but we pulled it off. And I must admit our turkey was one of the best turkeys I have ever tasted. We do have pictures of it, but they are still on our camera. I don't know why I was so intimidated about the turkey because it was the easiest thing to make. We also made (from scratch) mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, kale, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a beet salad. It was quite a feast.

Then on Thanksgiving day, Liam started to get sick. We knew something was wrong when he wasn't smiling all day long. The sickness really kicked in after everyone left on Saturday. Stuffy nose, coughing, watery eyes, sneezing. We ended up taking him to the Dr. cause we don't know what we're doing, but they said everything was fine unless he got a fever. But boy were the nights difficult. Monday night he went down at 7 and then woke up every hour. His cough was so bad that he couldn't settle down but the moment I picked him up he collapsed in my arms from exhaustion. Then when I would try to put him back down, he would wake up. So the night ended with Liam finally falling asleep at 1 am in my arms on the floor.

Now, he's feeling a little better but Dylan is REALLY sick. Like flu sick. I think right now he's sleeping on the bathroom floor wrapped in a towel with a space heater on. So our family is completely pitiful right now. Hopefully this night won't be too bad

It's been a while

No, I haven't forgot about my blog, I've just been super busy. We recently returned from a trip to Waynesville, NC. Our intentions were to just go somewhere we could experience fall, but in fact we were experiencing the beginning of winter. It actually snowed while we were there. Very nice, but cold. There is too much to write about our trip so I'll just show you some pictures.

The view from the porch.

One of the highlights of the trip was being able to spend time with my good friend Allison who lives in Charlotte. It had been about 3 years since we've seen each other, but we just picked up where we left off. I think I've forgotten how much I miss my friends.

Part of Liam's photo shoot. He may not sleep through the night but he is darn cute.

Evidence that we saw Fall. Dylan is turning into a GREAT photographer.

My Buddy and Me bundled up for the cold.

O Ye of Little Faith

So the past two weeks I have been driving myself BONKERS trying to figure out why Liam was waking up so much in the middle of the night. I tried everything and sought help everywhere. I fed him more, I made sure he wasn't too cold, gave him Oragel, Hylands, tylenol, let him cry it out, read blogs, book... Literally just racked my brain. Then finally on Saturday night, we gave him his teething gel and Dylan and I decided we should just pray with him before bed. And guess what, it worked. He went back to sleeping 9 hours straight. Of course prayer was the last thing that I thought of. I'd been exhausting myself trying to figure it out instead of taking it to God.

The next night we prayed again. As Dylan left the room he told me he forgot to put his Hylands on his teeth so I should do it, but I was already feeding him and knew he wouldn't want to stop. I thought Oh no, he's definitely going to wake up in the middle of the night because we forgot the teething gel. And instantly was convicted. Even after seeing God answer our prayer the night before, I was still putting my faith in a little bottle of teething gel instead of the God of the universe. So I decided to not give him the teething gel. If God wanted him to sleep, he could sleep without it. And as I sat there I began thinking just even eight hours, that's all I ask. But once again, my thoughts were stopped dead in their tracks. Why was I asking God for the bare minimum? Instead of asking Him for a full 12 hours of sleep, I was settling for less. I didn't have the faith to ask God for what seemed the impossible.

So, after Liam fell asleep we asked God to allow him to sleep 12 hours. He didn't sleep 12 hours but he slept 10 1/2!! A new record. I kept waking up during the night, checking on him, but he was knocked out. And last night he slept 10 1/2 hours again. We are so thankful that God has been stretching our faith through our son. We are learning to not rely on stupid tubes of teething gel or bedtime rituals, but a God who is bigger than these things.

New Favorite Squash

So last week I made spaghetti squash for the first time. How fun. Why have I never had this before? I found a really great recipe in the Martha Stewart Living magazine but it's not on her website for some reason. So I'm going to attempt to type it all out.

Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Meatballs
1 hr; serves 4 (or two hungry people)

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds), halved lengthwise
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp EVOO
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1/2 ounce grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
8 oz lean ground turkey
8 oz mixed mushrooms
1 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
4 oz baby spinach (about 5 cups)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season cut sides of squash with 1/4 tsp salt. Bake, cut sides down, on a baking sheet until tender, about 45 mins. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Scrape flesh into strands using a fork. Let drain, covered to keep warm, in a colander set over a bowl.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic, stirring, until soft but not brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add oregano; cook until fragrant, about 30 secs. Divide mixture between 2 bowls.
3. Stir 1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp cheese into 1 bowl of onion garlic mixture. Mix in breadcrumbs, turkey, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper using your hands. Form into 12 balls.
4. Heat 2 tsp oil in large skillet over medium heat. Brown meatballs, turning, 4 to 6 mins; transfer to a plate. Add remaining tsp oil to skillet. Cook mushrooms, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper, adding a few tablespoons of water if skillet browns too quickly, until soft and beginning to brown 6 to 8 mins. Add remaining bowl of onion-garlic mixture, meatballs, and stock; bring to gentle simmer. Cook partially covered, until meatballs are cooked through, 4 to 5 mins. Add spinach; cook until just wilted, about 1 min
5. Divide squash and meatball mixture into 4 servings. Sprinkle with remaining cheese

Remember the Sabbath

FYI: This is a horribly written post. My thoughts seem very scattered and disconnected. This is what happens when you're an internal processor and are writing off the cuff.

On Wednesday we had the privilege of hearing from Ken Cochrum during our connection time. We had heard him speak on the same topic a couple years ago, but it was great to hear him again. He spoke about the Sabbath and really about his journey/struggle with setting aside a day of rest. For people who are in full-time ministry ironically, it seems like you never have a Sabbath. There is always someone who needs you or work to be done, but you feel guilty to say no to people and things because its "ministry". And it's not really about saying no to things, but about intentionally setting aside time to be refreshed by God and maybe other people. Ken talked about how about 8 years ago he started observing the Sabbath by setting aside 24 hours of no work, just God and family. So from noon Saturday till noon Sunday he turned off his phone, didn't go on the computer, took of his watch and was just present with his family. When we first heard him talk about this, Dylan and I, realized we needed to set our Sunday's apart with stuff that was refreshing to us and not work. So we did start to say no to things on Sundays. If student's wanted to have a meeting, or a social on Sunday we just had to say no because we knew that it would make our work week seem endless. We were able to eat after church with friends, sometimes take a nap, watch a movie at home and feel rested when we entered the work week.

But now things are different. One mom asked Ken on Wednesday, "how does the Sabbath work for moms, when it seems like you are always working?" And this is where I am stumped. Not only how do moms have a Sabbath, but how do moms with infants have a Sabbath? Obviously both spouses can't have a Sabbath at the same time, so how do you find the balance? Right now, I don't know, but I'm pretty eager to figure it out and start making some healthy habits for our family.

"So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience." Hebrews 4:9-11

American Girls

During the weekend I found myself on the American Girl website. I don't know how I got there, one of many rabbit trails I guess. But there are a lot of changes since I was little. They've discontinued selling Samantha, Kirsten, and soon to be Felicity, there are 5 new dolls, some best friends and they have so many accessories now. Man I wish I was 8 again. Me and addy would be having a great time. Unfortunately I am 26 and I think Addy has been accidentally thrown away.

There is even the option of making a doll
to look like you. However out of the 40 options, there is still no doll that looks like me. Really? All I'm asking for is a medium skinned doll with short, brown, curly hair, brown eyes and freckles. Is that so difficult?

Officially Fall

When I woke up this morning it was 60 degrees outside!!!! Hooray. I quickly put on a sweater and took Liam outside to soak it all up. Memories of college in the fall quickly flashed back to my mind. I remember freshman year, moving my bed under the window so I could sleep with the cold air blowing on me. I would study with the window open listening to Diana Krall. So naturally, I cracked open all of our windows and put some jazz music on. This is fall to me. All I need is a pumpkin spice latte (but I probably shouldn't since I had one yesterday). I am contemplating making pumpkin spice cupcakes again though. :)

Last night I think I made one of my favorite dinners. So easy and fresh. I was too busy eating it that I forgot to take a picture so I stole one from the website. They are mini pizzas with fresh grape tomatoes, arugula, and pecorino. I just bought some pizza dough from the Publix deli, about $2.60 for a pound and it made 4 mini pizzas. I loved it the way it was, but of course Dylan was wondering where the meat was. So I think next time we make it I'll put some Italian sausage on his. Top it of with a nice glass of Chianti and it's a great, easy, and light dinner.


Individual Pizzas with Arugula, Pecorino, and Tomatoes
from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

Olive oil, for baking sheet and for serving (optional for serving)

1 cup grape tomatoes

Coarse salt and ground pepper

4 individual pizza shells from 1 pound Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough, fresh or frozen

1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

3 cups baby arugula

3 ounces shaved Pecorino Romano cheese

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Turn a large baking sheet upside down; rub with oil. Using your hands, crush tomatoes into a pulp in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Spread crushed tomatoes on pizza shells; sprinkle with red-pepper flakes. Bake until crusts are golden, 18 to 20 minutes.

In a bowl, toss arugula with Pecorino; top pizzas with salad. Drizzle with vinegar and, if desired, oil.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Individual Pizzas with Pecorino, Arugula, and Tomatoes - Martha Stewart Recipes

Baby Food

My latest hobby has been making baby food. It allows me to put my creativity to good use. The resources I've been using are Wholesome Baby Food and Baby Love. This weekend I may have gone a little overboard with the baby food making. My mom came and stayed with me while Dylan was away, so I used the extra help to get as much food as I could made. For like $35 I got enough supplies to make butternut squash, carrots, apple-prunes, plums, peaches/mango/pineapple, and pears. I seriously think I made enough butternut squash to last all winter, oh well. There's great satisfaction in knowing that Liam is having yummy, wholesome food that even I would want to eat. Seriously, the fruit is like little popsicles. I've been often tempted to steal one of his cubes of plums. So here is everything I made this weekend (plus the peas I made last week). We'll see how long it will last, Liam is packing it in these days.

A Day of Forgetfulness and Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

So on Thursday I had a couple of errands to run. First: to get a new phone because Liam ate mine, and Second: To target to get stuff to make a dessert for life group. Since Liam isn't awake for long periods of time yet, I have to make good use of his awake time. So I headed to the AT&T store to get a phone, but they said I couldn't do anything to the account because it's in Dylan's name and he has to "authorize" me. Nevermind the fact that Dylan knows nothing about the account and I'm the actual one that handles things. But then I realized that I forgot my wallet and wouldn't be able to buy a phone anyways so I left. I then headed to target and filled my cart up with all the groceries I needed to make the dessert and was about to get in a checkout line and realized, I STILL don't have my wallet. So I made the walk of shame to the costumer service desk and told them to put everything back.

I went back home so Liam could take a nap and when he woke up we headed back to Target. I did remember to bring my wallet this time. I got home and started making my pumpkin spice cupcakes. Super easy. A box of Spice cake and a can of Pumpkin. I added a little water because it was so thick I couldn't mix it, but it's supposed to be a little dense. When I got around to making the chocolate cream cheese frosting, I realized I forgot the cream cheese. So I had to wait until Dylan got home from work and send him back out to the store just to get one package of cream cheese. Geez.

Needless to say, they were a hit. In all the chaos I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but I will definitely be making them again.

Carbonara Fail

So I attempted to make Spaghetti Carbonara for the first time. And I emphasize attempted. I found a recipe online that seemed simple and pretty legit but what turned out was a salt fest. You could tell the potential was there but the sodium was intense. The only salt I added was to the pasta water, so my only thought is that the pancetta was super salty. I've read online that you can blanch it to remove some of the saltiness, so maybe I'll try that next time. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti
1/2 lb. pancetta (sliced 1/4 “ thick at the deli, and cut into lardons)
4 lg. eggs (locally raised and cage-free if possible)
1 Tbs. garlic, finely chopped
1 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. finely minced fresh parsley
freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated parmesan reggiano to pass at the table

Method:

Put salted water on the boil for the pasta.

Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, saute the pancetta lardons in the olive oil over medium heat until the bacon has rendered much of its fat. You don’t want to cook the pancetta to the point of being crisp, it is better with a little fatty “chew” still left in it. Just before the pancetta is done, add the minced garlic to the pan and allow to cook until the garlic is golden brown. Set the pan aside to cool. (Allowing the pan to cool some at this point is important, because if the pan is too hot when you add the eggs later, they will immediately scramble, and not gently cook into the creamy sauce that is your ultimate goal. The dish will still taste fine if this happens, but it will look like someone gacked in your pan, so be careful.)

Grate the romano cheese and set aside.

Finely mince the fresh parsley and reserve.

Break the eggs into a medium sized bowl and whisk them till smooth. Add the grated cheese to the eggs and keep handy.

Cook the pasta to the maker’s instructions for “al dente”, and as soon as it is done, quickly strain it and toss it into the skillet with the pancetta, reserving a cup of the pasta cooking water to thin your sauce later if needed. Add the cheese and egg mixture to the pasta along with the parsley, and toss to coat. The heat from the pasta will gently cook the eggs, and melt the cheese into a luxuriously rich and smooth sauce. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, add some of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen it. Check the sauce for seasoning before plating.

To serve, place the pasta into warmed bowls, top liberally with freshly ground black pepper, and sprinkle with some freshly grated parmesan.

Lately

I'm attempting to write my first blog in like 10 days. Things have been a little hectic lately. I'm sure that Liam will wake up from his nap while I'm writing this, so I'm gonna keep it short and sweet. Last week was the week of visitors. My parents, Dylan's parents, and my brother and sister-in-love all visited during different times. Let's just say that Liam wasn't lacking attention. It was so great to have lots of hands to help but yesterday was really hard to recover.

I've been keeping myself busy learning to juggle taking care of Liam, keeping my house in order, making food, and getting life organized. One of the projects that I finished this week was a peg board for the kitchen. Our apt only has 3 drawers so I had to figure out something to do with all my kitchen gadgets. It was really easy to do and only cost about $30.

All the supplies

Dylan helped with all the drilling

The final product painted green (I couldn't resist)

Every Wednesday we get together as LHS for some development. Last Wednesday we were privileged to hear from Dr. Jim Coffield. He is a counseling professor at RTS here in Orlando. His talk was good, but the Q & A afterwards was great. One of the things that he said was "Sometimes I love the story of the redemption rather than the redeemer." And that is so true of my life. I find myself loving the gospel more than the one who created it. It's so easy to get caught up in the work and the mission instead of just loving Jesus. He also touched on parenting which was exactly what I needed to hear right now. Here are a just a couple of snippets:

"Parenting is more about you being faithful then how your kids turn out. It should be measured by faithfulness, not results"
"Our sacrificing is for out behalf not our kids"
"Maybe God just wants our hearts to be broken about parenting"

This is liberating. There is no formula for having the perfect child, and it's not my job to produce the perfect child. I just need to be faithful to the charge that God has given me.

Our group listening to Dr. Coffield

Adjusting

So we've been in O-town for 2 weeks already. Things have been going well. We are learning to adjust to a VERY different schedule than we are used to. I used to think 9 am staff meetings were ridiculously early and would laugh at friends who went to bed before 11pm. Boy are things different now. Yesterday I was asleep by 10pm, and when I was getting up for the day at 7am Dylan was already at the gym. Such a different life, but I'm glad that life is settling into a routine. I've also been adjusting to days without Dylan. I've been sooooo blessed to have had Dylan be home with me for the last 5 months (since he's been able to do some work from home). There is no way I would have survived without him and I think God knew that. Liam is doing better. He's sleeping more through the night (sometimes 7 hours straight) and not giving us too much trouble during bedtime. But for some reason he does not want to go down for naps, especially when we are out. I don't really know how to get him to sleep in public. We've tried and it goes horrible wrong, so I don't know what to do about that.

Anyways, we haven't really taken any pictures since we've been here, so I guess I gotta jump on that. Here are some pictures of our last couple of days in Miami. Oh how we miss MIA.

Lunch at Green Street Cafe. I was enjoying my watermelon lemonade and Liam was enjoying his duck.


Our last meal at Casa Larios with friends. And of course, Marcus stealing Liam.

Internet Finally

Yay!! After a week of being in Orlando we finally have internet. The only time I've been able to connect with the world has been early in the morning when I can steal Dylan's iphone. So far things are going great. It's kind of weird to move back to your college town 4 years later and now being married with a kid. But I do have to say our location is great for us. Living across from Waterford has been awesome. We pretty much walk over there once a day (and I go to target once a day). Things are slowly getting put in their place and we are excited for this year. That's all I got to say, too much internet to surf.

Motherhood Woes

Last night it took Liam 2 hours to fall asleep. Why? I don't know. It seems like nothing is working. When he's awake, he's very happy, but once bedtime comes, he freaks out. He goes down swinging every time. I think there have only been 2 bedtimes where is has gone to sleep without screaming. And people keep telling me that it gets better, but guess what, it's not. We try to let him cry it out and it doesn't help. He just hates his bed. And even after he's asleep, it's not like he's out for the night. He'll wake up about 6 times during the night. I know he's not hungry, because if you've seen my boy, he's VERY healthy. Today is 20 weeks and the most he has slept without waking has been 5 hours (and he's only done that twice). I'm about over that. I'm over sleepless nights. I'm over bedtime screamfests. To all the moms out there it's not helpful if you tell me that your baby never slept until it was like a year old. That makes me depressed and I need some hope these days. I know it's a possibility. Also, don't ask me how he's sleeping unless you are offering to take him for the night (exception to recent moms and close friends). It's one of those small talk questions that drive me crazy because you don't really care if he's sleeping you've just heard that babies don't sleep so you want to see how he compares. It's a cruel reminder to my restless reality.

That's all I got for now.

Fun Chicken Recipe

So last night we had some friends over for fondue. I figured that we needed some protein in addition to the usual cheese and chocolate, so I found this recipe online. I didn't really follow it to a tee but followed the basic ingredients. Really this recipe is all about the dipping sauce, if you make it correctly. I followed the directions and was letting the rice vinegar boil with the sugar in it. It said to boil until it got slightly syrupy, so I did. However 15 minutes later the smell of vinegar filled my entire apartment, and burned my nose. I didn't realize how bad it was until Dylan came home and was like "what the heck". Oops my bad, sorry Liam. So I would advise to boil it for only 3 minutes. Regardless it was yummy. I had leftovers today and made them into a taco with the chicken, sauce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a little sour cream. I think they were better the second time around. (Honestly, I picked the recipe in the first place because of the picture)

Miami Bucket List

A sad reality but we leave Miami in 13 days. :( I have grown to love so much about this city (the food, culture, beach, church, diversity, arts) and will miss a lot. So I made a bucket list of the things I want to do before I leave (mostly restaurants) and am trying to knock out the rest in the next two weeks. Today we knocked out Cafe Demitrio, my favorite coffee shop in Miami. Such good drinks and great atmosphere.

Yummy Caramel Latte

Here's the List so far, I'm sure I'll add more to it later:

1. The Beach
2. The Forge 7/30/10
3. Fratelli la Bufala
4. Deli Lane
5. Green Street Cafe
6. Sing at Crossbridge one last time :( 8/1/10
6. Cafe Demetrio 8/5/10
7. Cauley Square Tea Room
8. Casa Larios

4 Years!

July 29th was our 4 year anniversary! And thanks to my mom we were actually able to celebrate. We took Liam over to her place Friday night for his first sleepover. It was surreal to leave him there. Then we headed over to The Forge on Miami beach for a fancy dinner, because we deserved it. It was the best dinning experience I've had in Miami. Our waiter was awesome, the drinks were awesome, and the food was awesome. I only wish we were rich so we could eat there all the time, (we were clearly out of place). Then I actually got to enjoy a full nights sleep. It was amazing. We headed back to my mom's the next day to resupply her with food and then headed to see Inception. I won't spoil it for anyone, but it was great. But now the weekend is over and we're back to the daily grind tomorrow. Man, it was great while it lasted.

Purple Velvet

It has been a long time since I've made cupcakes and was so excited for a reason to make them this weekend. In honor of a friends upcoming wedding, I made purple velvet cupcakes. Well, red velvet is my favorite, but purple was one of the colors in her wedding so I decided to switch it up a bit. Now, I'm not one to make cupcake batter so I always use a box mix because decorating is more fun. I started with a red velvet mix and figured I would add blue food coloring to it. FAIL. The batter turned out maroonish. So I moved on to Plan B. I used a white cake mix, dyed it purple and added about 1.5 tbsps of unsweetened cocoa. I could have added more but the batter was starting to turn brownish. I used these white damask baking cups that I found at Michaels and they actually made about 18 cupcakes instead of 24. I topped the cupcakes with Paula Dean's cream cheese frosting and edible purple glitter. They came out great. I only wish I had made more.

Before the frosting. The batter kind of looked like poi, but tasted way better.

The finished product.

Gospel Community

Our first year in Miami was tough. Ministry was hard, we didn't feel connected to anyone outside of work, and we were ready to leave. But God told us to stay and every Sunday I see why. He has blessed us with an amazing church. Once we started going to Crossbridge we felt connected to people right away. We got plugged into a crazy but awesome community group and made some great friends. Ever since we left for college we never felt like we had a church home until now. Felipe and Marcus welcomed us in, sought to use and shape our gifts, reinforced the gospel, and came alongside us in our ministry at UM.

And this past Sunday as we dedicated Liam, I was reminded of what an amazing community we have here and how sad I am to have to leave it. This is the hardest part about leaving Miami. They (and Tim Keller) have taught us so much about the gospel and about loving and redeeming culture. So this was just a quick shout out to probably my favorite thing about Miami. I'll leave you with a link to all the sermons, the latest I would recommend is One Peace - stellar.

http://www.crossbridgemiami.com/category/teachings/

I hope you are as thankful for your church as we are.


And here's a video of Liam's Baptism

Today Show Finds

I watch the Today show everyday and love it because I always find something new whether it's websites, food, music, etc. Here are some of the great finds of today.

1. Wine Coasters (www.dimmalimm.us)

These are a great alternative to wine glass charms and are a coaster within themselves so you don't have to worry about water rings on your tables. They come in a set of six different colors: light pink, mint, yellow, orange, moss, strawberry.








2. City Pass (www.citypass.com)

If you're a person who loves attractions and museums, this is the thing for you. You can save up to 50% off ticket prices of attractions in 11 cities. Unfortunately Orlando isn't one of the cities, but maybe one day it will be.






3. Sideshow Press (www.sideshowpress.com)

Just 3 ladies and a letterpress in Charleston, SC. You do wholesale orders, custom designs, and even have some products available on Etsy.com

Latest Project

As if I needed something else to do, I decided I was going to learn how to sew. This weekend Dylan's mom brought all her stuff and little did know what I was getting myself into. As you can see my dinner table has know turned into my sewing station. I haven't sewed anything else except some sample pieces. Hopefully I'll have something to show for this soon.

Needy Baby

Well my day turned out to be nothing that I hoped. My biggest accomplishment? I packed one box. Why? Because I have the neediest baby around. Liam would not let me put him down or be out of his sight. I guess I should have seen it coming. The morning began with him falling asleep after his feeding and crying everytime I tried to set him down. So this ended up with me holding him in my lap in the bed as I tried to lean back and go back to sleep. I was telling Dylan that his neediest is both endearing and restricting all at the same time. It's weird.
So today I'm hoping for many things 1. To brush my teeth 2. Take a shower 3. Put real clothes on 4. Step outside the apartment and maybe 5. Pack a few boxes. We'll see how this goes.
If all else fails at least I have SYTYCD tonight!

I LOVE this show

When summer time rolls along there is one show that claims my heart, So You Think You Can Dance. I didn't really catch onto the show until the third season, but don't worry a little MTV marathon caught me up on seasons 1 and 2. I get goosebumps when I see and awesome dance, the same way I get goosebumps when I hear beautiful song arrangements on GLEE.

Last night was an amazing show. The highlight by far was Alex's hip-hop routine with Twitch. The past couple of weeks I've been asking myself "why is Alex on this show? He doesn't need this show, he's already a member of a major ballet company". I thought maybe he was like one of those kids whose parents forced him to study ballet and now he's making up for it. But after last night I've come to realize that Alex is on this show to prove how awesome he is. A ballet dancer shouldn't be able to do this:



So this inspired me to share some of my favorites from the last couple of years. There are so many that I like, but I can't share them all :)


Obviously - Bleeding Love




This is why Allison is an All Star (sorry for the crappy quality) - Why



Just Hot - Hip Hip Chin Chin



Sexy Back



Dreaming with a Broken Heart



Ruby Blue



Gravity



Whatcha Say

Anxious Pride

Lately, my time with God has been very few and far between. I haven't been making it a priority and there always seems to be more pressing things to do. But yesterday Dylan encouraged me to get away for 30 mins to spend some time with God. Just that little bit of uninterrupted time was so refreshing. I headed across the street to Don Pan, sat down with my Cafe con Leche and Apple Pastelito, and continued my journey through Piper's Future Grace.

The chunk that I read was about pride and how anxiety/worry are a form of pride. It sounds backwards, but it really is true. My constant worry about our finances, parenting, and future show that I do not trust God. It's like I would rather worry and try to solve life's problems myself rather than rely on God. Because relying on God would mean that I'm not in control anymore. Here's a great quote from the book:

"... pride does not like to admit that it has any anxieties. And if pride has to admit it, it still does not like to admit that the remedy might be trusting someone else who is wise and stronger. In other words, pride is a form of unbelief and does not like to trust in future grace. Faith admits the need for help. Pride won't. Faith banks on God to give help. Pride won't. Faith casts anxieties on God. Pride won't. Therefore the way to battle the unbelief of pride is to admit freely that you have anxieties, and to cherish the promise of future grace in the words, 'He cares for you'."

My Brother is Married!

Well we just got back from Chicago for my brother's wedding. It was Liam's first flight and my first time to the city. The whole weekend seems like a blur but it was great. I love Chicago. The wedding was absolutely perfect in every way. We were kind of fearful about the weather because it poured the day before, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Every detail was beautiful and I can't wait to see pictures. I'm so happy for my brother and even more happy to finally have a sister. Congrats to Dorian and Tessa!




We stayed an extra day so we could actually see some of the city. We didn't do much, just walked around, ate lunch in the park, and took pictures. We were hoping to have more time, but somehow our days just got busy. No need to worry, we are already plotting our next visit to the windy city.

Exausting Days

Well, our little guy has been quite a treat the past few days. Starting on Friday he was fussy all day but ended the day by sleeping 6 hours that night. Victory! Then Saturday he was a delight. He napped well during the day giving mom and dad a chance to go to the movies while his GiGi watched him. Then that night he slept almost 8 hours!! On Sunday we headed to Sanibel to visit our friend the Valiquettes for a day, and that is when things headed south. Literally he was great in the car and once we got to Sanibel he decided he was going to eat every 2 hours and not sleep. That night he was so fussy and hungry I was up the whole night. Then on Monday he was still fussy, hungry, and sleepless. From 7am to 7pm he napped a total of ONE HOUR. That's right, one hour. Let's just say this was not one of my favorite days. When we finally got home to Miami at 9pm last night, we were so exhausted and were just praying for this day to be over. He woke up a lot last night, I think because he was adjusting to being back home. And right now as I'm typing, he's sleeping on my chest and I'm afraid to move him since he's been so bad at napping. I'm hoping that this was just a growth spurt and we can move on to bigger and better things.

Cocodot

I had first heard about www.cocodot.com on the Today Show or something and immediately went and checked it out. It is the cutest website for e-vites and e-cards. I'm not even an e-card person, but it makes me want to send one. They aren't free but the prices vary from $.99 a card to $149 for unlimited cards and invites for 18 months. If you're like me, you'll be coming up with any excuse to use it.

Nap Time

Chocoholic

I've become slightly obsessed with these chocolates from a local chocolatier (in St. Pete). I've only been here for a week and I've eaten roughly 25 pieces. I can't be stopped. They are so beautiful and have some of the most interesting combinations like lemongrass-coconut and PB&J. I'm already plotting out my next visit.