Pumpkin Sort of Patch

This morning Gwen and I met up with some friends to go to a pumpkin patch. I thought it would be a field of pumpkins... but little did I know it would be a mini pumpkin Disney land. We had to pay a little admission fee (argg!), but Gwen loved the morning, so I guess I can't complain. We came home with a pumpkin, but it is of the size that could fit in the palm of your hand. :)

Here is Gwen looking at the buffalo.


Here she is petting the goat. Hand sanitizer anyone?


This long horn had really long horns! Imagine that!


Gwen and I in front of the long horn. I'm looking rather robust these days don't you think? Don't answer that.


Gwen loved rocking on this rocking cow.


She played in the corn.


Here is the pumpkin patch display. They had real plants and then placed pumpkins that were grown from a grower beside the plants. I was a bit disappointed...but Gwen didn't notice the difference.


Here are the three musketeers- Gwen, Caleb and Clara.

The Skit Guys

Here's a video they played at our church yesterday. I know a lot of people were moved by it. Check it out.

Meal Plan

Boeuf Bourguignon
Moroccan-style chicken with couscous
burgers, salad, chips, brownies- a street party we are hosting
stuffed shells, salad
waffles
omelets or sandwiches

Sharing With Muslims

Ben and I have neighbors that are Muslim. We have been forming a better relationship with them and have been talking about Christ. I found this website very helpful and I just wanted to put this out there in case any of you that read my blog have Muslim friends:

http://www.wcg.org/lit/gospel/sharing/muslim.htm

Another Day On The Farm

Today we went to Ben's Grandparent's home. Gwen saw a doll with a bonnet on and decided to borrow the hat for the day. Doesn't she look like a little cute pioneer?


She is honing her pioneer skills by churning butter. :)


Grandpa has joined the cult of the snuggie.


We went and visited a really nice lady down the road named Ms. Wallace. Gwen loved her tiny little rocking chair and Ms. Wallace's sweet ways. She is 93 and was a teacher for many many years and just stopped substitute teaching this year. What a lady! She lives in the house her late husband was born in and she told us lots of stories about the days gone by. She told me about the orphan train that came through this part of the country and how she had a sister-in-law that was adopted that way. Apparently, a Methodist minister from New York saw all of these street kids and felt he had to do something about it. So he gathered them all up and then set out across the country to find them good homes. He stopped in Holden, Missouri and the husband of this particular household was in town and only had one child and couldn't have any more for some reason. The minister said "we've got a whole buggie of babies out there... go pick one." They of course didn't have a phone back then, so he couldn't phone his wife... but he came home with a one year old girl to raise. Imagine that! I'm going to have to read up on the orphan train.


Ben, Gwen and Grandma Georgia

Wedding Lyrics

I'm preparing to sing at weddings coming up and I have to share these words with you. They are so beautiful to me.

If Music Be The Food Of Love- Henry Heveningham (c. 1692)

If music be the food of love, sing on,
till I am fill'd with joy;
for then my list'ning soul you move,
to pleasures that can never cloy.
Your eyes, your mien, your tongue declare,
that you are music ev'ry where.
Pleasures invade both eye and ear,
so fierce, the transports are, they wound,
and all my senses feasted are,
Tho' yet the treat is only sound,
sure I must perish, by your charms,
unless you save me,
unless you save me in your arms.

This Marriage- Rumi

May these vows and this marriage be blessed.
May it be sweet milk, like wine and halvah.
May this marriage offer fruit and shade like the date palm.
May this marriage be full of laughter,
our every day a day in paradise.
May this marriage be a sign of compassion,
a seal of happiness, and hereafter.
May this marriage have a fair face and a good name,
an omen as welcomes the moon in a clear blue sky.
I am out of words to describe how spirit mingles in this marriage.

Makes Me Laugh

The other day Gwen found one of her hats on the floor, put it on, grabbed a catalog from the junk mail on the table and sat down in her little chair. She makes me laugh. She is quite independent and it surprises me. At church she is now in the walker group instead of the crawlers and I call the walker class the "trauma center" because watching the little kids being dropped off is horrible. They scream, they cry, they act like they are being abandoned. What does Gwen do? As soon as she is on the floor she looks around, sees the other kids and books and runs off to join them without even a glance at me. Don't get me wrong, I don't want her to pine for me, but I think it is just amazing that she just has this independence built in somehow. She's going to be a great older sister to this next one.

Meal Plan

broccoli, baked potato, turkey tenderloin (rotisserie flavor), yeast rolls
turkey vegetable stew
steak and corn pudding, green beans
chicken taco salad
pasta and salad
broccoli rice, tomato sandwiches

Gwen's Snake and Weekend

Such a wonderful happy girl Gwen is. I'm so blessed to be her mama.


Gwen discovering a grasshopper. She thought it was funny when it jumped.


Some fungus stuff growing on one of our trees. Not a great sign for the tree... but I think it is neat.

and finally, Gwen's snake. She has figured out how a snake sounds and what it is like.

Halloween Preview

I have such a funny and wonderful husband! I had to convince Ben to get this in the store. People come in costume at his work and he is "manager of fun". I thought this was totally him. I can't help but laugh every time I see him in this.

Why Boys Need Parents and Live Long

What am I going to do if this one is a boy? Kidding... boys are adorable... but these made me laugh.




This is me in retirement.


I love audacious older people!

My New Favorite Song

Every once in a while I get "obsessed" with a song. This song is my new one. I love Ernie and I even like ol' Aaron Neville in this one. :) If I was still teaching school I would be teaching this song to the kids for sure. They would love it.

Plastic Hat

The other day it was the metal helmet, today it is the plastic hat. Rusty the dog is staying with us for a few days, which Gwen loves. Today she kept getting into the dog food and dog water. It took about 10 times with the "rod" (wooden spoon) on her forearm and me telling her no to get that that was off limits. I told her she could play in the tupperware and she did. This is what she came up with. I couldn't help but laugh... she looks like Charlie Chaplin or something.

Chorale Babies

These three were all born within a few months of each other. Here they are socializing at the welcome back party for the Chorale.

Helmet Head and After Dark

Gwen got this mixing bowl out yesterday and went around the house using as a hat. Like the carefully matched clothes? :)


This is what happens to a six month pregnant lady after dark. Scary huh?

Robb Mansion

This is a house I am going to sing at in December. I'm singing with a quartet. I've been to this house once before and it was with my choir, the day before my due date with Gwen. Charles, our conductor, made a big deal out of it and asked if there was a doctor in the house and told everyone that it was the day before my due date. This year... I return again all big and round. If they remember me, it will seem like I've been pregnant forever. ha! I have honestly never been in a house, where people actually live, that is so fancy. When we went there before we all went to the bathroom and discovered they had toilet paper with the letter "R" embossed on there. We discovered later that all of us in my car that we carpooled together had taken some of that same toilet paper home to show our spouses. The couple that owns this home are both lawyers.

Gwen Update

I took Gwen to the doctor today and she weighed in at 23 lbs. and 2 oz- the 54th percentile for her age. She is 32 inches tall and that is in the 89th percentile! Wow... is she going to be tall maybe? That would be unlike me for sure. She got two shots today, is cup training (no bottle), and I've started disciplining her for ignoring my "no". She's having kind of a tough day! Maybe that's too much in one day.. but there is never a good time for all these projects. I've already put off cup training because of Korea, guests in the house, teething... the list goes on. I think when you start doing this stuff like true training (potty, cup...whatever) that's when you earn your parenting badges. All I want to do is kiss that chubby face of hers and make her laugh. It's slowly sinking in that it can't be like that all the time. Well... enough of my rant for today.

Meal Plan

teriaki turkey breast tenderloin, rice, peas
buttery orzo with cherry tomatoes, grilled chicken, cantaloupe
steak and mashed potatoes, green beans
stuffed peppers
tomato sandwiches or stew or chili- haven't decided yet
woops... forgot the butternut squash I bought. I'll fit that in somewhere. I love that stuff!

*special- blackberry cobbler

I had a hard time making up my mind this week what to make. (except for the cobbler- ha) The orzo recipe I got from a friend at home group and it's delicious. If your family are fans of pasta like my little girl is... it will be a hit. You know I've got the cherry tomatoes for this recipe... tomatoes are running out of my ears still and I'm lovin' it.

Buttery Orzo with Cherry Tomatoes

1 1/4 C uncooked orzo pasta, 8 oz.
3 T butter
1 onion, chopped, 1 C
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 C white wine or chicken broth (I used the wine)
1 pt. grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley (don't add too much or you will only taste the parsley)
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

Cook orzo according to package directions, drain. Meanwhile, in pot, melt butter over med-high heat. Add onion, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-4 min.
Add wine; boil 1 minute. Stir in orzo and tomatoes. Over medium heat, cook until heated through, 1/2 min. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley and zest.

*This makes quite a lot, so if you are worried about the term "buttery" being in there it's actually not that much when you divide it out into portions. It's really enough to feed 5-6 people easily as a side dish. Bon a petite!

Nothing In Particular

So these days Gwen has been just begging to run around in the yard. Up until now, I thought it was ridiculous to spend $13 on shoes that she will wear a grand total of probably 3 months. (I'm cheap) BUT I finally splurged and got her one pair. She loves to walk around in them and is starting to look like a full fledged toddler. These shoes are her only ones and they are white. What was I thinking?


She loves to pick up anything that crosses her path when she strolls in the yard. She however does not like it when I take things away from her. You can imagine.


Today we went out as a family to home depot to look for a vacuum filter (exciting huh?) and ended up at Sonic. Ben got ice cream and I got a fruit slushy thing. I took about 5 sips and the baby inside of me was leaping with glee. I decided that was probably enough sugar then. We also got a glass of water. Ben first ordered a little cup of water and then said, naa... give me a big one. They brought out a 44 oz glass of ice water. It was enormous! What human needs a drink that big??? Ben drove us to a more scenic place to eat/drink our Sonic and we ended up at an entry point to a bike path that Ben wanted to check out. As we sat there eating/drinking our sugar we started to feel a little guilty watching all those people exercise. Then we started laughing at that. Gwen loves anything cold and sweet and she kept pointing and motioning that she'd like a sip. I gaver her a sip of my fruit thing and the girl put both her hands on the sides and sucked so hard I was afraid she'd give herself a brain freeze. Below is Ben with the "large" water.

Name Funnies

Well... I have gotten some name books from the library and have been looking and looking. It is seriously very hard work for me to decide on names. I think Ben and I are narrowing it down, but we're a ways from deciding. We have to have two solid choices for both a girl and a boy since we don't know the sex of the baby and I can't name someone I haven't met yet. In one of the naming books they had these stories that made me laugh.

Popes traditionally choose a new name upon their election by the College of Cardinals. The practice began in 844 A.D. when a priest whose real name was Boca de Porco (Pig's Mouth) was elected. He changed his name to Sergious II.

A new recruit in the U.S. Army filled out all the forms he was presented with as he always had in school: R. (only) B. (only) Jones. You guessed it-- from then on he was, as far as the Army cared about it, Ronly Bonly Jones, and all his records, dogtags, and discharge papers proved the point again and again.

There are 3,037 male names in the Bible and 181 female names.

Harry S. Truman owed his middle name, the initial S., to a compromise his parents worked out. By using only the inital, they were able to please both his grandfathers, whose names were Shippe and Solomon.

Baby Bap Update

I saw the doctor today and everything is good. I measuring well and haven't gained but a few pounds, which is good. The heartbeat was 153. At this doctor's office no one knows the gender of the baby including the ultrasound tech. The only one that knows is the Lord. How cool is that?

Spaghetti Smile

This is today at lunch. Can anyone say stain remover?

Wedding Music

I am planning to sing for a wedding coming up and I have been asked to sing this song as a solo. I don't know this couple and I think they want it to sound like the recording. After I heard it I said out loud "all righty then" and decided I'd have to get my groove on for this one.



I've been asked to sing at several weddings through the years and sometimes some rather interesting song choices have come up. Here are some wedding songs I've sung and memories I have:

"We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters- that was a fine song until you get to the fast groovy part and the organ is accompanying you.

"How Beautiful"- a very popular wedding selection and beautiful song... that is, unless you forget the whole verse about the bride in it. That was embarrassing.

and the only song I've ever refused to sing at a wedding: "It's Your Love" by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. I refused to sing the first lines in church- "holdin' you close, touchin' your skin, asking you to do what you've been doin' all over again" The couple got someone else to sing it instead. ha!

Songs Ben and I had at our wedding: I Stand In Awe, Great is Thy Faithfulness, How Could I Ask For More, and the final song I Love You for Sentimental Reasons.

Gwen Pictures

Ben had to go and retrieve Gwen out of the play tube thingy at McDonald's on Saturday.


Saturday we went to a baby shower. This is Gwen making her prediction of how many skittles are in the bottle... a shower game. :) Isn't she a beauty?

Dancing and Six Months

Getting a picture of Gwen these days is increasingly more difficult. I came down the stairs today and she was with Ben and had just eaten half a waffle, a piece of grapefruit and was munching on a ginger snap. What a snack huh? :) She loves her daddy and thinks he is so funny. The videos I'm posting below display why she thinks that. He really is funny!


This is me at six months wearing my Korean pregnancy shirt. I feel like I'm showing much earlier this time around.

Just Thinking

So, I've been reading a book called "Shepherding A Child's Heart" and also at church we've had a series of sermons on parenting. I'm just scratching the surface of understanding how huge parenting is and how you influence your kids. I went to church last night for a breakout session called "cultivating your child's spiritual life." Wow... what a huge responsibility and honor to point your kids to God. I hope I direct their hearts to want to do what God wants. Ya know?

Gwen is doing all sorts of new things... saying please, poop, (not in that order), bye bye, bubble. She also knows the words bounce, kick, and all sorts of animals. I discovered yesterday that she knows how an owl sounds. I looked at her and said "who taught you that?" I am constantly amazed at how she is becoming a little person all her own. With that said, she also let's me know when she isn't pleased with something. Sometimes I have to excuse myself into the next room to smile about those moments. In my mind at those moments I say "stinkin' Eve" referring to when she sinned first in the garden. I need to stop thinking that. :)

In other news... while my mom was here totally spoiling me and the whole family she bought a broom and dustpan with a long handle. I've wanted one for so long and let me just say... if you are pregnant, have ever been pregnant, will be pregnant, or know someone pregnant... get one of these. They are AWESOME!!

Baby Bap

These are the sonogram pictures taken of Baby Bap as of August 19th. That's been a few weeks ago... but with travel and all I haven't had the chance to scan them to share with you all until now. Everything in the ultrasound looked good- praise the Lord!

This first picture is a profile shot. What do you think? Boy or girl? We have NO idea.


Here it is showing off its beautiful spine and back of head. Isn't it amazing how babies grow in there? It is to me.

Meal Plan

It's after midnight here, but because I took a two hour long nap this afternoon, I can't sleep. So...what better time to make a grocery list and meal plan right? I'm hoping that the jet lag will wear off very soon. I just can't seem to get back to normal. By the way, I got totally spoiled having my mom here cooking for us. I had to cook dinner tonight and it almost took an act of Congress to get me to do it. (but I did) Anyway, here's the plan...

*pork and cider stew (made with some cider mom and I got while she was here)
turkey patties, mac & cheese, baby lima beans
creamy tomato soup, grilled cheese
cheese tortellini with tomatoes and corn, salad
*Cuban ropa vieja
tomato sandwiches, salad

Notice a lot of items with tomatoes? That's cause they are running out my ears. Our tomato plants are doing AWESOME this year. I've also incorporated a couple of crock pot recipes this week to help reduce the "I don't want to cook" impulse. :) (I marked the crock pot ones with a *)

22 weeks

Tomorrow I begin my sixth month. Wonder what I feel like? This video explains. :)

Ben's Bike Ride

Yesterday Ben got off from work early so he decided he would ride his bike home. He knew it would be a long ride home and he mapped it out the night before. He was so excited. It was rainy yesterday so I called him to caution him about biking, but he decided to go ahead and bike ride in the rain. He rode at least 25 miles and when he got home he said he fell twice. He had a pretty big scrape on his leg, but I was proud of him.

Here he is with the American flag in front of our house. The salute was his idea.

Korea

Well, I am back from my pregnancy adventure in South Korea. The plane ride was mighty long, but I'm glad that I went and saw this part of the world. My choir sang a lot and didn't have much free time on our hands to do touristy things, but here are some shots of what I experienced.

All the buses we rode had these kind of curtains in them. I thought they were tre' shiek. :)



Here some of us are in a Vietnamese restaurant. I had never tried Vietnamese before. I really enjoyed it. However, Korean food I think I have sworn off for life now. I took plenty of pictures of the Korean food, but didn't want to put them on here for everyone to see. Let's just say it's not my thing.


Koreans are serious about their toilets. In the Seoul airport they had these noise makers in the stall that you push and it sounds like flushing to mask any noises you make in there. Those noise makers are loud by the way. In our hotel we had the supreme toilet of all time in my opinion. It had a seat warmer that kept the seat warm all the time. It also had a feature that when you sat down a little water was put into the bowl to "get you into the mood." THEN, as if it couldn't get better... you have little buttons for the bidet and then the little red headed girl (that's what we called it) was for female urination it said. It was like a bidet, except further up. All I have to say is that the Korean toilets were a far cry from the hole in the ground that I was expecting.


This is me walking around the city of Incheon where our hotel was. It is about 1 1/2 hours from Seoul.


In Incheon, they are doing tons of construction and trying to make this city "the" place to come. In fact, here is an artist's rendering of the future skyline of Incheon. They are building the world's tallest sky scraper here.


Downtown Seoul. We spent the last day in Seoul before going to the airport. It was nice to shop and look around. There were lots of people and they had many stores that we have. Prices were not super cheap like we thought, but you could haggle which I enjoyed. Korean people wear western clothes and I was surprised that the Korean young women wore short skirts and high heels a lot. We were a novelty there and several times I got my picture taken on the sly. I'm not sure if they see fat blonds much over there. :)


This is a lady that the department stores hire to welcome customers into the parking garage. She has a microphone on and says stuff on it. I thought it was cute.


Shopping in Seoul.