Beki's shower and the start of Winter

Over the past few weeks I've been working on putting together a baby shower for Beki.  We had it this past Saturday and my only goal for the whole thing was I wished for Beki to have a good time.  I think she did, so it was a success. :)  I chose the "mommy to bee" theme because I thought it was cute and because they are waiting until birth to find out the gender.  I really enjoyed this theme!

I priced out someone else making cake pops...but it was just too expensive.  I tried them myself and they came out all right.  :)

The table.  Someone gave to me the honey jar on the left.  It was a perfect decoration!  We had a mini waffle station, quiche (crust and no crust), pumpkin pie, dipped pretzel rods, cake pops, fruit salad.  It was great.

Here is the mommy to be herself.  She's due January 22nd.  She is a beautiful pregnant lady. 

My mom crocheted little bees to make into a garland.  They were SO CUTE!

More people arrived after this photo.  The room was packed.

Opening presents. I think I'm the only one in the Midwest without boots like this.

The two Grandmas.  Beki's mom and Jeff's mom. 

Sweet three week Owen.  What fun these two cousins will have together.  I'm sure Romy will be in the mix too.  Sorry I cut Melody out of the photo, but you know... priorities. :))  I'm a proud Aunt!

flowers... makes any cold day nice in my opinion.

I copied this from a picture on pinterest.  I liked how it turned out.

My Romy has stopped nursing now and is beginning to speak more and run around more.  She is able to communicate almost anything.  In fact, she said the word "Hercules" the other day.  I know you all think I'm crazy, but she did.  Everyone laughed at me with Zeke because I said his first sentence was "I want a gumball", but it was.

My girls.

We also see lots of this... fit throwing.  It is so comical the third time around that I have to walk away and just laugh. 

My Gwen in looking so grown up these days.  I look at her and I think she is just beautiful.  She also says interesting things to me and says them in ways that don't sound like me anymore.  She is coming into herself and I like who she is becoming.

Fall Memories

A few weeks ago Gwen pulled her first tooth.  I always thought it was gross when parents saved their kid's teeth.  Um... I might have Gwen's in my jewelry box.  I couldn't bring myself to throw it away yet. 

Above the candy, above the dressing up and being with friends, the kids were most excited to go in a haunted garage our neighbor put up.  They had me drive by it daily.

Gwen's school Halloween parade.  Katie Beth is in front of her as a pink lego.

Her class party.  We hear a lot about this little boy, Gabriel.  Gwen really likes him.  She's holding a plastic bat.  From what you see on the desk guess what I contributed.  That's right, the orange. :) 

The kids and Ben.  Gwen was an angel, Zeke a robot, and Romy a pumpkin.

She made this pose when I asked to take her picture.  Nothing like a sassy angel huh?

This is total de ja vous.  Gwen wore this same outfit a few years ago and looked very similar. 

This was Gwen a few years ago...

Ben dressed in his soda bot costume he made himself. 

We fashioned a light in his helmet.

Kids at an apartment complex we minister to with an organization called Mission Southside.  We go there each week and meet people, pray with people and are hoping that we can start a Bible discovery group there and make disciples.  Things are in the early stages there, but we are covering this place with prayer.

I've been needing to use up my fresh herbs before frost hits.  This year instead of drying them I made different flavored salts.  I now have a basil salt and a rosemary salt.  You just put a cup of herbs with a cup of kosher salt... whir it in your blender or food processor, put it on a baking sheet and bake at 225 for 30 minutes.  Stir it halfway through cooking time.  You may ask... what do you use it for?  Primarily roasting vegetables or on tomatoes or on buttered bread... but the possibilities are endless. :)  Plus, when it is baking it smells heavenly.

Romy in Costco.  She loves stuffed animals.

Ministry

Today this quote was in my devotions:

"Spend your time and energy with heaven's perspective.  Resist the urge to fritter away your valuable time and strength.  Invest it today in the only thing that will last through eternity:  people.  Your children, co-workers, neighbors and husband are worth all the time and energy you have to invest, for now and for eternity."

That is so where I'm at these days.  My neighbor is Egyptian.  She is Muslim and in her 60's.  I have begun walking with her every morning.  She grabs my hand when she sees a dog.  She's afraid of them and Islamic people have a "thing" about dog saliva.  They don't want it near them at all.  We walk so early we see skunks moving about our neighborhood and we are both afraid of being sprayed.  We talk about life and faith.  She loves God.  She prays 5 times a day.  I've heard the call to prayer app on her phone go off.  She ordered us a bidet attachment in thank you for Ben doing all sorts of handyman work over there.  This morning I was walking with her under a full lunar eclipse.  It just can't get any more unusual and wonderful than that!  She tells me stories from the Quran about Jesus talking as a baby.  I tell her stories from the Bible about Jesus.  It is interesting.

Antioch Woods is an apartment complex just 5 minutes from my house.  My house in a cozy neighborhood is butting up against an apartment complex in which people open their doors and they don't have a stick of furniture.  We have committed to going to these apartments once a week (Ben and I) and meeting people and praying with people and hopefully starting a small group Bible study there.  We are meeting and going along with a guy that has been going there for months.  He has the gift of evangelism.  Ben and I are gatherers.  We are relationship people.  It is a good match.  We are using this as a date night.  Meeting/praying with people and then going to dinner together.  We are going there Halloween night as a family.

Following Christ is an adventure... you never know what you are going to encounter.  I'm ready to go a little deeper and trust him more.  I'm ready to not be noticed and go to the people that feel forgotten.

Falling Leaves

I feel like I haven't blogged in ages.  It seems before I can sit down these days a week has gone by.  I am planning a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Beki.  This picture is of a diaper carriage I've been working on.  I need to add a couple of things, but I'm excited by how it is turning out.  

Gwen had a lap-a-thon at her school where you run to raise money for the school and Luke and Zeke ran too.  I have never seen Gwen try so hard at something.  She ran 12 laps.

Romy has officially begun her toddlerhood.  She screams quite a lot and gets into everything.  She screams when she sees other kids going outside and she can't.  She screams when I have a glass of ice water and won't let her drink from it.  She screams when I try to put her in the carseat and when people leave.  All of her communication is screaming, pointing at her mouth (when she's hungry and thirsty).  I'm trying to teach her to sign a few things... so wish me luck.  Since taking this photo we have managed to lose all her her pacifiers.  I think she opens the trash and throws them in sometimes.  I purposed in my heart not to buy more, so... we are off the paci.  But the screaming...

This is the month that Jake and Melody will have their baby.  We are looking forward to another niece or nephew.  I forgot to post any photos, but we also threw a baby shower for Jake and Melody.  It was "mama bird" themed and I was in charge of the decorations.  I borrowed this bird house from a friend.  I thought it made a nice centerpiece.

Time Racing On

It's a busy time in our lives.  Serving at church, raising kids, trying to show them how to work hard and love hard and doing all manner of strange diaper cake concoctions.  That's what I've been doing.  Romy had a photo shoot Saturday.  She is just so beautiful and I wish I could capture her way on camera.  She is just a beautiful soul and I enjoy her very much.  

I was saying "round and round the garden" and she was doing the hand motions.

Look closely for her special feature... the ear that looks pierced, but isn't.

Why can't rolls be cute on adults?  I'd be set!

I love them and think they are beautiful treasures.

This is how I see them most of the time.

My three waves of Grace.

Thoughts on a Tuesday

I haven't weaned Romy yet.  I just can't bring myself to.  Please know I don't want to be blasphemous here, but I feel like Jesus in the story of the women that bled for 12 years.  I feel power coming out of me when she nurses.  I know breastfeeding isn't a super power, but it's close.  I know it's not the milk that is the power I'm talking about.  It is love.  I feel like I'm pouring love into her.  She's the only one that has made it this long and although she's not super into nursing, she likes it for comfort.  I like it for comfort too so I'll do it a little longer.  There, I said it.

A quote I heard from the sermon on Saturday:  "do you have space in your life for people who are far from God?"  Yes, I think so, but I feel compelled to make more space.  I know people all around me that do not know Jesus.  I want to have the ministry of availability. I want to be available to my husband after a long work day.  I want to be available to my children when they talk about their day, laugh, or play (or nurse).  I want to be available to my neighbors that are lonely and need to be asked to dinner, or a single mom that needs a hug, or a Muslim neighbor that needs to see that Jesus requires something of us too and that He's the Messiah.

Proverbs 1:8-9
"Listen, my son, to your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck."

I do love garlands.  Been reading Proverbs lately.  Lord, help me to gain wisdom and discipline.

Romy Turns 1

We had a few neighbors and family over to celebrate Romy turning 1.  I must say, it probably was the party with the least amount of effort on my part.  But we had store bought desserts and she seemed ok about it. 

Here we all were singing Happy Birthday to Romy and he was lifting her up.

She was having a good time bothering my brother.

Beki and Jeff got Romy a whoopie cushion.  The kids thought that was great fun.  Giving a one year old a whoopie cushion... hum... their time will come.