Over Halfway There...

We are finishing up day 9 of 14! I got to actually talk to Matthew yesterday morning. It was so wonderful to hear his voice and I can't wait to touch him in 5 days! They have made it from India to Nepal safely. They are staying at a Leprosy Camp (scary, I know!). My first question was if it was safe. He said yes, they are staying in a different area and don't have physical contact with anyone that has leprosy. I have to admit, the thought of it is still kind of freaking me out though. Finley said this morning that we were going to "ride go to Nepal" ("ride go" is her way of saying driving or going for a ride). Then this afternoon she started to cry saying she missed her daddy and what to hug him *melt my heart*. She has actually done really well this year with him being gone. Last year was kind of rough, she was 18 months and really didn't understand what was going on. This year, we are able to talk about what Daddy is doing and where he is and when he will be home. We pray for him every night, and every morning she asks me where he is.

We had another great weekend... We spent Friday night with the family of the other guy Matthew went with. It was great to let the kids play and then have some girl time once all the kids were in bed. I have not been to bed before midnight since Matthew left, and tonight isn't looking to be much different.

Saturday, my best friend since 9th grade came down and spent the day with us. We don't get to see each other very often, but when we do we have a great time and pick up right where we left off. We took Finley to a local farm and walked around. 

We went and picked out a small pumpkin, that Finley did not want to touch. She said it was dirty and dropped it.

This picture was taken after about 5 minutes of coaxing to get her to hold it.

The farm had a pumpkin painting station, which is kind of brilliant. I think from now on, we will be painting our pumpkins. I have seen other people do it, but always thought it wasn't very halloweenie. But it turned out to be awesome! She really enjoyed painting it and was actually able to do it herself, with little help from me and Erica. Unlike the pumpkin carving that I tried to do with her the other night, that turned into a by myself event. And since I have some type of reaction to pumpkin guts, this will keep my hands and arms away from the stuff!

We were also able to plant strawberries, and next spring when they are ripe and ready to pick we can go back and pick them. I think this will be really neat for Finley. I think it will be awesome to go back and pick the strawberries from the plant she helped to put in the ground. She has a really good memory and I hope she will remember doing it.

She like the idea of putting the plant in the ground, but once she realized she had to touch dirt she wasn't to thrilled with it!

And the finished product of the painted pumpkin....

 I'm just glad it didn't turn out gray!

I am just about finished with Finley's halloween costume. I will post pictures and instructions on how I made it in a few days! It is super cute! She is going to be Snow White! I can't wait!

5 days until Daddy comes home!

9 days until Halloween!

Fall Fun and Family Time

**** Warning: Picture heavy post! ****

So sorry I haven't been able to get on in a few weeks. We have been busy trying to get as much family time in as possible before the Hubs left for India and Nepal for 14 days. Along with letting me have some alone time so I wouldn't go crazy while he was gone. 

We have been busy going to football game tailgates.

Uncle Robert would be proud! She is sitting on a police motorcycle and she loved it!

The Ramblin' Wreck! I really want to ride in this one day!

** Side note: I really love my awesome yellow pants! **

I love the faces she is making right now :) She is really starting to have her silly personality come out.

We have also been apple picking

There was a man in Native American dress and she was freaked out. She would not go near him! That is why she is stuck to my leg!

The Hubs left 5 days ago for his 14 day trip. Almost 2 days of travel with 5 days in India and then 5 days in Nepal followed by 2 more days for travel home. We are on day 5, and so far so good. Today has been the hardest, I think our patients with each other is starting to wear thin and we still have 9 days to go! I have been trying to keep up busy. That seems to be the best option for us. The more we stay at home, it seems the more she gets frustrated and starts to ask for Daddy.

Matthew went to Nepal this time last year for 10 days. That was a hard trip. First, it was the longest we have been away from each other since we started dating - 10 years ago! Second, once he went into the village we were not able to have contact. So we went 7 days without talking. On day 3, Finley (18 months at the time) started to lose it! I took video of her freaking out and trying to climb the wall to get to one of his pictures. This year when she asks where he is I am able to tell her, and she has been able to tell other people! So our friends have been asking her where her Daddy is, and she responds "Daddy's in Nepal!" It is soooo stinkin' cute!

This was taken just minutes before we had to get in the car to head to the airport. I didn't cry this time when I left the airport! 

Dinner with the family of the friend Matthew went with. 

So to keep ourselves busy we have been making candy apples with some of the apples we picked last weekend.

And I carved my very first pumpkin without Matthew's help! It took me 2 hours! I expected it to be something Finley and I could do together.... you would think since I have carved a pumpkin before, I would know what a bad idea this would be. Needless to say I was able to cut the top out and clean it out before she started to melt and it was time for bed. Also, I had some type of allergic reaction to the inside of the pumpkin. Every year I've noticed my skin gets irritated, but this year it was bad! It went half way up my arm! Thank goodness it didn't last long. I was able to wash my arm and that seemed to relieve the irritation.

This is the finished product! Yay! Not to bad, huh? 

We will be having a spend the night party with the wife and kids of the friend that Matthew went with to India and Nepal. Then on Saturday we have a friend visiting for the day and we are going to a local pumpkin patch. So only 9 more days! I can't wait until he comes home! I am really hoping I can talk him into typing his story so that I am able to share it here! I can't wait to hear all about his journey and how God has worked through him and moved him during this trip!

Well hopefully it wont be 2 weeks until I am able to post again!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Fall Y'all

Well, Fall is officially here! I am SUPER excited! I have already made some pumpkin muffins and had a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks :) Fall decorations are out and they are beautiful! I can see the leave of the trees outside are already starting to change, and I can't wait for them to fall so we can go outside and play in them. 

The last few weeks have been crazy. We found out that my daddy had a cancerous tumor on his kidney. They recently did surgery to remove the tumor. They weren't sure they would be able to save the kidney at first, but the surgery went great and they WERE able to save most of the kidney. The initial surgery went great, but he started to have some complications afterwards during his recovery. He spent 11 days in ICU, then was moved to a normal room and then sent home the next day. He is home now and recovering nicely. We went to go visit him and my mom this past weekend. So between driving up to the hospital while he was there, doctors appointments for myself, the normal every day stuff like school, and helping friends out; there really hasn't been a lot of extra free time. 

And life isn't slowing down with the holiday season starting and Matthew going out of town.

Matthew leaves for Nepal next Saturday. So this weekend will be spent as a family. We are headed up to North Georgia to go apple picking and maybe stop at a pumpkin patch if we see one worth visiting. Then next weekend we will say bye to Daddy as he travels to the other side of the world to help teach young men how to be strong Christian leaders in their village. He will be gone for 14 days! I don't know what we will do without our Daddy for that long! Finley has really become a daddy's girl in the past few months and has a hard time going to sleep if he is not there to tell her good-night and say her night-night prayer.

I don't think I have posted since I mentioned the big changes coming for our family. We still have not had any movement on any decisions. We have decided to take this week and fast as a family. Matthew is doing a juice only fast for the next 3 days. I will be doing a water fast along with him. I have to have food, so I am still eating but I have decided to cut out all cokes, teas, and coffee. The goal is to pray every time we feel the need for one of those things, and we have lots of thing to pray about....

Well, have a great week and weekend!

Big changes are coming....

I'm not suppose to say anything. I promised. And as much as I hate vague posts, I am going to post one. Also, since I am pretty sure no one reads this, it wont really matter anyway. None the less.... there will be no details, just my thoughts and feelings.

We recently got some big news from some close friends. Some very big and exciting news. Turns out this news involves us too. The Hubs and I are having to make huge decisions for our family. Decisions that will change not just the 3 of us, but our entire family. Decisions that are being made without the input and advice of very close family and friends.

I think about this aspect of what is going on and it makes sense. If we are going through with this, then it is time to grow up and make decisions on our own. We can't run to our parents every time something big is happening and ask them what we should do.

We are adults, and we have a family of our own and it is time to branch out on our own.

We are pretty sure we have made up our minds. We both feel that God is pointing us in a certain way and we are willing to walk the path he has put in front of us. It is very exciting, and very scary at the same time.

The hardest part is not being able to talk to anyone about it, because I am a talker. I get news and I am calling anyone that will listen. When we found out we were pregnant, we said we wouldn't tell anyone until after the first doctors visit. As soon as the Hubs left, I called my sister. So not saying anything is KILLING me! We have seen my parents, and his dad and stepmom (and actually... they do know, but have been sworn to secrecy too), our community group and close friends. There have been long awkward silences that I just want to bust out and tell everyone. But I can't. It was hard last night to sit at our community group and when asked if there were any prayer request to not say anything. Friends are being cordial and asking the typical question when you see them, "How are things going?" and "What's going on with y'all?" and I have to respond "Oh you know... the normal..." When things aren't normal at all. I am also pretty sure our community group leaders know, but since they have also been sworn to secrecy we spend our time together not talking about what we all want to talk about. It is very awkward.

These are exciting changes for our family. And one minute I am thrilled and excited, the next doubt creeps in and I start to ask the "What if's?" and "What about's?" I can start to give more info in a few weeks, when the cat is totally out of the bag about our friends plans. The Hubs doesn't want to say anything until we have our plans set. I'm not so sure this is a good idea, especially dealing with family.

But we are ready to do this. We are ready to set out on this adventure.

So let's do this!

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On a more up beat note.... Fall is on it's way!

I can see it in the trees, smell it in the air. The mornings are staying darker for longer and the sun is setting earlier. School is in and football is starting. We have talk of a cold front moving through in the next few days. Which for Georgia in September means we will be in the mid to high 80's. I have already started to burn my pumpkin scented candles, because I just couldn't wait any longer and I am counting the days until I can pull out my fall decor. Which is 14 days, by the way. I refuse to put fall decor out until the first day of fall. I also refuse to put Christmas stuff out and play Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving. I have Little's Halloween costume planned, I just need to start picking up supplies to make it. I am super excited about the season change. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. I come alive when the air becomes crisp and cool and the leave crunch under my feet. It means walks in the afternoon to the park, and sitting out on the porch swing watching to sun go down (without sweating). It means hot coffee in the morning and hot tea in the evening. I've already started working on some fall crafts and can't wait to post about them!

We have a lot going on this fall. The Hubs is gone this weekend, he will be home for 2 weekends and then camping again the weekend after that. He will then be home for 1 more weekend and then leave for his second trip to Nepal. He will be gone for 3 weekends (Saturday to Saturday - 14 days). I'm not sure how Little's will do with him being gone that long. Last year I didn't think she would understand, but she did. Around day 4 of 10 she started to have a hard time going to sleep and would cry for her Daddy. Which was kind of big for her, since up until that point she really didn't want anything to do with him.  She has a hard time now going to sleep if he isn't here to help put her to bed. I have no idea what 14 days without him are going to be like. At least this year we will have more regular contact. Where as last year, once the group headed into the village we had no more contact with the guys that went until they got back into the city. So prayers are very welcome for the guys that are going again this year!

Well the weekend starts tomorrow! I hope everyone has a great time!

She is still small

We are smack-dab in the middle of a 3 day weekend and I am LOVING it!

So far we have had dinner with friends. Gone to a local craft fair. And spent the afternoon at the pool with some friends.

But the weekend did not start out that nicely.

Thursday was a rough day. We are very blessed to have a 2.5 year old that can speak very well. She is very verbal, and has been since she was 6.5 months. (No lie, she said "Dada" at 6.5 months. By Christmas she was saying "uh oh" and "thank you!" and it has been a big snowball since then.) She can speak in full sentences and knows what she wants, most of the time. Even with all of that, she is still only 2 and has little life experience to tell her what things are and how they work. So she gets frustrated with things, and me, when something doesn't go her way and she doesn't know how to express it. Thursday and Friday were 2 full days of this. Thursday was bad. Our day started with a 6:30 am wake-up call. That followed into a tantrum at Wal-Mart while trying to grocery shop. Eventually I just gave her my phone to play games on and to keep her quite and in the cart. Which this left me without my calculator so I was having to add things by hand, and I am NOT good at math! She proceeded to not want to eat lunch and continued to throw fits for the rest of the afternoon and only napped for an hour and a half (which she is normally a 2+ napper). To top the afternoon off, the Hubs texted me to let me know they did another round of layoffs at his job and he narrowly escaped the ax this time. There were 2 engineers in his department, now there is just 1... him! So to add to my frustration of the tantrums, there is now all this fear about if he is next. That night, the Hubs had to head up to Georgia Tech for a class and that left me to put Little's down by myself. It took her an hour and a half, 2 trips into her room, 1 trip to the potty and me staying in there for 20 minutes until she finally calmed down and went to sleep. Friday didn't start much better with a 7 am wake-up call. We had some more errands to run, but wasn't able to do them because the car wouldn't start. Friday afternoon continued the same way as Thursday with the tantrums and short nap. When our friends called us to come over for dinner that night, I was happy to accept! It was a chance to get out of the house and let Little's go play with some friends. This was exactly what we needed. Little's was able to run around and be loud and rambunctious with her friend and get some of that pent up energy out. I was able to sit and have an adult conversation with a good friend that is going through the same stage we are in. And our Hubs were able to talk about their up coming mission trip back to Nepal.

I bring all of this up because although our child is very bright, she is still very little. She still gets frustrated with me, with Daddy, with the dog, with her toys, her food, the TV and the radio when all these things don't do what she wants when she wants it. It is easy for me to get frustrated with her, because all I want to do is tell her "Life doesn't work this way! Things and people don't do what you want them to do when you wanted them to do them!" But I have to stop and remind myself she is still small, she doesn't know. It is my job to teach her. It is my job to teach her how to react when things don't go her way. It is my job to teach her how to respond to others that may do things differently. It is my job to show her kindness and patients when she gets frustrated, instead of getting frustrated with her. I am human too, I get upset and hurt and frustrated just as easily as she does. She probably gets it from me anyways. And when I do get mad with her for no reason, I need to remember to go back and apologize and ask her for forgiveness. It may seem silly to some, to see a grown woman asking her 2 year for forgiveness, but if she see's that even Mommy needs it, it will be easier for her to give it to others and ask for it herself later.

With that.... my parents should be here in just a few minutes for dinner.

And on a side note.... She has been asleep for almost 4 hours for her nap today! I need to go wake her up!

So go have fun for the rest of the long weekend! Summer is almost up and Fall is on it's way! 

~Have a great Labor Day!~

Homemade vs Store Bought

I recently read an article in one of the parenting magazines that I get that talked about the amount of sugar a child should be getting a day vs. the amount that they are getting. I was shocked to realize that a toddler should only be getting 5 teaspoons of sugar a day, but they are actually getting 36! 

This got me thinking.... and looking. I went to the refrigerator and started looking at the things I was feed Finley. I was shocked to learn that there is more sugar in one individual cup of applesauce then there was in her popsicle! So I started looking around for things I could make for her to eat that is better for her and that I know what is going into. 

This has lead to us making better choices as a family. We are starting to use fresh foods and veggies, rather then canned. We tried quinoa for the first time the other night and really enjoyed it. We are trying to cut out the amount of sugar and processed food we are eating.

I have started small with snack and breakfast items and few dinner items. My hopes are to eventually be eating everything fresh or homemade as much as possible.

The first thing I made was applesauce. It was super easy! 

What you will need:

* 1 or more bags of apples. Any type will work, so pick which ever you like. You can also use a variety of apples. I just used 1 bag, which had 9 average sized apples in it.

* 1 lemon

* 5 teaspoons brown sugar

* 1   3 inch cinnamon stick

* Crock pot

* Food processor

First wash, core, and peel the apples. Then cut the apples into 1 inch pieces.

Place the cut apples into the crock pot.

Add the brown sugar, 1 piece of lemon peel, the juice of the lemon and the cinnamon stick.

Turn the crock pot on low and let everything cook for 6 hours and stir occasionally. 

I noticed the apples did not turn into an applesauce consistency, so I placed the apples into the food processor and was able to get it the consistency I was looking for.

This applesauce is good for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

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I have also made the Hubs breakfast burritos for him to take to work in the morning. 

What you will need:

* 10 - 12 eggs

* 1 package sausage

* 1 Green bell pepper

* Hash-browns

* 1/4 cup milk

* Salt and pepper

* Cheddar Cheese

* 2 packages of tortillas (They are usually 10 per package and this mixture can make 20 depending on how big you make them.)

First brown your sausage. Once that is cooked drain the grease and set the meat aside.

Cook the hash-browns in the same pan according to the directions.

While the hash-browns cook, in a separate bowl mix the eggs, salt, pepper, green pepper, and milk.

Once the hash-browns are cooked add the sausage, hash-browns and egg mixture to a large pan and cook until the eggs are cooked through.

Fill the tortillas with the mixture and top with cheese. 

Roll into a burrito and then wrap in plastic wrap. I then placed the burritos into a sandwich bag and then a larger gallon ziplock bag and place in the freezer.

To reheat: Just place in the microwave for 1 minute on each side.

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I also recently made on-the-go oatmeal and smoothies for Finley for breakfast on school days. I will get that recipe together and get that posted soon!

Have a great weekend!

Survived

Well we have survived our first week of school. Although we have all had the stomach bug that has been going around and I came home Monday with a cold. 

Finley did great going into her class. She didn't cry or anything! I think it helped that her teacher this year was the assistant in her class last year. 

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Have a great weekend!