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All this reading really makes you tired…

Every afternoon around 2:00, when my busy little guy is down for his nap, I am very tempted to power through my list of chores that still need to be accomplished. But I’ve found that no matter how many chores I do there will always be more and if I don’t take time to stop and have a little quiet time, I have no energy left by the time Aaron gets home. We all have different energy levels but for me, I’ve been learning to practice self-control by ignoring my list on the counter and instead lighting a candle, brewing myself a cup of tea and sitting down with my bible, a book or magazine and taking an afternoon respite.

But not just any tea – it has to be Vanilla Chai with a little cream and sugar!

This, of course, isn’t feasible every day but when I do, I feel so recharged afterwards that I think I get three times as much done!

This past week a friend called and offered me a free box of fresh picked plums. I of course jumped at the chance of receiving free food and promptly got to work turning them from this…

Into this…

Yummy plum jam!

I only get to can about once or twice a year, but when I do it always makes me feel somewhat like a pioneer women preserving food in the summer to eat in the winter. And although it’s no longer something we have to do to survive, canning is a wonderful skill to have (thanks for teaching me mom!). Not only is it healthier for my family, since I know exactly what went into that jar, but homemade jams and butters make a wonderful and inexpensive gift around the holidays.

My newest niece ~ Hailey Jennifer! Born to my sister Whitney and brother-in-law Elliot, she arrived at 12:45pm on Saturday, August 8th.

Isn’t she a cutie!

Last Thursday my mom planned a little family get-together to visit with my sister Brooke who just returned from a 3 month mission trip to Ukraine. Or at least that’s what I was told! Aaron seemed anxious to leave on time and when we arrived I was puzzled why so many cars where there, but assumed I had just misunderstood and other friends were invited to see Brooke too. When I walked through the door I was shocked to say the least – it was a surprise baby shower for Emma! I have never been so surprised in my life – I didn’t suspect a thing (so much so I hadn’t bothered to fully put my make-up on).

It was planned and hosted by both Grandmas and lots of aunties. They did an amazing job putting effort into every detail.  It was a very special evening and I was extremely blessed by the outpouring of love!!

Since it was a surprise I didn’t have my camera with me so I’ll post pic’s of the actual shower later. For now here are a few of the goodies she received…

Lots of adorable little girl dresses and outfits – she will be well dressed!

Sweet little bows, ribbons and accessories – so cute!

Her first baby doll from Auntie Marie, Uncle Christian and Cousin Addy! Behind her is a special cuddly pink and brown blanket from Nana – we’re planning on taking both to Ethiopia for Emma to enjoy right away!

We also received several large/group gifts - a double stroller so I can still walk at the park with two little ones, a new car seat, a pack n’play (I borrowed on for Spencer so it’s great to have my own) and a red wagon both kids can sit in! I was BLOWN away by the generosity of our friends and family – we received so many amazing gifts and are now completely prepared for our little gir’ls arrival! Thank you everyone!

When Spencer was a baby my good friend Laura made him a very cool full body bib. It was my absolute favorite!  I decided to use it to trace a pattern and duplicate it for Emma. Here’s what I came up with…

I haven’t posted in awhile because I’ve been on vacation! Even though it’s a lot of work to pack up a household for a week (especially when you add little ones into the picture!) and leave behind your responsibilities(did somebody pay the bills?!), once you’re finally on your way – it’s worth every minute! It’s wonderful and needed to let your brain relax and recharge once in a while!

5 years ago when my brother and his wife got married, we started a tradition of planning a summer vacation together. We camped a few times and then when babies started to arrive we switched to renting a house and splitting the cost. We’ve built a lot of fun memories together and this year was no exception!

We found a cute cabin about 15 minutes from the southern entrance into Yosemite. It would have been perfect except that we forgot to check for air conditioning (we usually vacation near the ocean so we’ve never needed it before). We managed fairly well with fans running 24/7 and usually left in the afternoon when it started getting unbearable.

Day One: We enjoyed a relaxing day at the cabin and then headed out to the nearby Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. The fed us a steak dinner, took us for a train ride through the woods where we stopped over for fun time of singing around the campfire, and ended with a moonlight trip back to the station.

Spencer was just a little bit excited – can’t you tell by the nerdy face!!

Day Two: As native Californians we decided it was high time we made a visit to Yosemite! So we packed a lunch and headed into the park. There wasn’t a lot we could do with four little people in tow but we did enjoy the amazing views and phenomenal scenery that surrounded us.

View from our picnic spot with Yosemite Falls in the background…

Views from Glacier Point…

My brother Ty, Sister-in-law Amy, and their children, Elaina (4), Lily (3) and Colin (1) with baby #4 due in November…

Day 3: The guys left the cabin around 6:15 to make the strenuous 14 mile round trip trek to Half-Dome. From what I hear they enjoyed themselves except for: Aaron slipping and cutting his leg, running out of water by the time the made it to the top (Ty had a water purifier but the only place to get water is the Merced River, several miles from Half-Dome) Aaron’s back going out and barely being able to walk the last few miles, and not making it back to the car before dark (thankfully they had a flashlight)! I was just praising the Lord that they had cell service and could tell us where they were - otherwise I would have had search and rescue out looking for them. Especially when they said they’d be back around 6:00 and didn’t roll in until 10:45! (Ty took all the pictures with his camera so I don’t have any to post).

Amy and I had a much quieter day back at the cabin with the kids. We planned a few crafts for them to enjoy and let them splash around in the little pool we brought along…

Day 4: The guys were pretty tired so we planned a low key day. Bass Lake was only 10 minutes away so we packed another picnic lunch and headed to the water. We found a great spot with a sandy beach and parked ourselves there for the afternoon.

Later when the kids were down for their naps, Amy and I got to sneak away for a few hours and do a little shopping in town. We ended the day with dinner all together at the Pines Resort overlooking the lake!

Day 5: After a fun and relaxing week it was time to say our farewells and head home. One last picture together in front of the cabin…

Adoption is an amazing and rewarding journey but at times the long wait can really get to you. I know pregnancy must also be a very hard wait but the real difference to me is that with adoption you don’t have a definite end date to look forward to. You can guess about how long the process will be based on others who have gone before you, but you also need to be prepared for unplanned set backs.

In the middle of Spencer’s adoption we received word that babies were not going to be released for adoption until they reached 6 months old – this brought referrals to a halt and added about 3-6 months onto our wait. When my husband’s family was in the process of adopting my sister-in-law, Dora, the government changed hands and they were required to do their paperwork all over again – adding a whole year until she could come home.

When you see a picture of that little face, all you want to do is bring them home and love them. But instead of sitting around worrying about possible setbacks, I’ve been trying to dwell on the fact that nothing happens outside of God’s control and I just need to trust and rest in His perfect timing.

Easier said than done – but I’m working on it!

And It helps to stay busy while you wait! I’ve been sewing, painting, stamping and more! So this is part 1 of several posts to come, displaying my most recent projects…

Emma’s Crib

Spencer and Emma will be sharing a room, so I picked green and brown colors to paint the walls and then added pink to Emma’s side and blue to Spencer’s.

I already have a really cute jungle animal crib set that I used for Spencer, with all the matching acessories, but of course it’s too boyish to use for a girl. I started looking for a girl set that wasn’t too expensive but most of the ones I liked were upwards of $200.

Then I stumbled upon a mix and match set at Target where you could pick individual pieces to buy and they were much more affordable! So I purchased a quilt (pictured above), a crib sheet and a set of receiving blanket (for a total of $26) and had the bright idea to modify the set I already owned. They have the same green and brown colors that I painted the walls and coordinate perfectly!

So I used the receiving blankets like material, cut them into flowers and changed this…

Into this…

And with the extra pieces I made my first rag quilt!

Every night before going to bed Aaron and I sneak into Spencer’s room just to check in and give him one last goodnight kiss. We don’t usually let him go to bed with toys because he will play for an hour instead of going to sleep, but last night he really wanted his ball mitt (as he calls it) so we caved and let him have it. He obviously didn’t have trouble falling asleep because this is how we found him…

I know I’m a little bias but I think he’s adorable!!

The last few weeks have been so hectic that we didn’t make any big plans to celebrate the 4th. We really didn’t feel like fighting traffic and crowds so we opted out of the traditional parades and fireworks and enjoyed a quieter day hanging out as a family.

We slept in (yes – Spencer too!), went out to breakfast at a great little place here in town, attempted a little bit of creativity…

(Spencer had fun helping me stamp this paper bag and fill it with a small gift for Grammie and Pop!)

…threw dinner in the crockpot and headed out on the boat for a few hours.

I forgot how relaxing it is to sit on the boat, getting a suntan and enjoying the wind and water blowing in your face. Spencer was a little unsure about the whole thing – he didn’t want to go in the water but was content to sit on Grammies lap and eat snacks all afternoon!

It felt a little weird not BBQing on the 4th but by the time we got home I was very thankful that all I had to do was pull our roast out of the crockpot, stir together some Cheesy Beer Bread Biscuits (recipe below), throw together a spinach salad and dish up some Mango Breeze Margaritas (left-over from my TS open house – more pics of that to come later). Easy and yummy!

Bountiful Cheesy Biscuits
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
Bountiful Beer Bread Mix®
1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic^TM
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese**
2 – 3 Tbsp. melted butter

Directions
Combine first 5 ingredients; stir until dough forms. Drop dough by large tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400º for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush tops of hot biscuits with melted butter. Serve warm. Makes 18-20 biscuits.

*Can use any Tastefully Simple seasoning blend in place of Garlic Garlic^TM.

**Can use any shredded cheese in place of cheddar.