One More

The other night I asked Ben one of those questions that men "just love" to answer. I asked him what his greatest fear was and with no hesitation he replied, "falling off a cliff onto a bed of spikes, naked, while on fire."

Funny Snippets

Last night Ben put Gwen in her crib and he came into our room and explained how he coordinated the landing of her in the crib with complicated hand switching and rocking and singing all going on at the same time. I laughed when he said "yeah... it was Edelweiss all the way baby!"

One night I was majorly sleep deprived and acting silly. Ben was propped up in bed reading one of his science fiction books he enjoys. He had told me this book reminded him of Lord of the Rings... so I asked him "is this book about a ring?" He asked me to repeat myself three times before he understood what I said. He thought I said "can we have a bookerbatering?" That doesn't even makes sense, but I found it hilarious. I laughed until I cried.

Meal Plans and Recipe

I like to cook. I enjoy trying new things. My friend Leah has a site telling everyone what her meal plan is for two weeks at a time. I enjoy looking at it and seeing what's for dinner at their house that night. It also gives me ideas for meals and recipes. I get a lot of my recipes from friends or family and magazines, so I don't have links to all of my recipes... but I've decided to post my meal plan for you all to read and if you are interested in a recipe I'll gladly send it your way. How's that? Maybe it will be interesting to someone as to what I cook for a person on a low sodium diet. Basically, I can use salt substitute and also I look for canned goods with "no salt added" and that makes a big difference.

It's not on my meal plan, but I've been wanting to try cooking with scallops. I've never eaten them and they just look interesting. Too bad they're like $11 a pound or something crazy like that. So... if you've eaten scallops let me know if it's even worth it. I do meal plans only one week at a time.

Sat- family gathering... I made chili, rice crispy treats, peanut butter chex mix
Sun- leftovers
Mon- creamy orzo with baked chicken, cucumbers
Tues- black bean and corn quesadillas, salad
Wed- stuffed peppers
Thurs- chicken curry pot pie
Fri- chili (again) :)

* Back ups... I always have back up meals in case I just can't get to the store. I usually have potato soup as a back up and also spaghetti on hand as a back up.

Here's the recipe for the quesadillas. It's super easy and good!

2 tsp olive oil
3 T finely chopped onion
1 Can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Can whole kernel corn, drained (or I use the can that the black beans came out of and use frozen corn)
1 T brown sugar
1/4 C salsa (or if I don't have that I just put in some spices like cumin, chili powder, oregano, and basil and cayenne pepper)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T butter, divided
flour tortillas
shredded colby/jack cheese
sour cream

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until softened, about 2 min. Stir in beans and corn, then add sugar, salsa, and pepper flakes- mix well. Cook until heated through, about 3 min.

Melt a pat of butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Put a tortilla in there, put a little cheese on there and then some of the bean mixture and then I either fold it over (if I have the larger burrito sized flour tortillas) or put another tortilla on top like a sandwich. Push it down with a spatula so the cheese will glue it together. Look under there after a few minutes and see if it's browned and then if it is flip it over and cook on the other side. Cut with a pizza cutter and then eat with sour cream.

4 Months

I bought these pumpkins today. When Ben saw them he said he automatically wanted to take out a baby wipe and wipe the cracks on these. :)


We had family over today and here is Ben's Grandpa and Gwen.


She is able to go up on her elbows now. Look at that face! What am I going to do when I have to tell her no? (um... tell her no of course)



Gwen is now four months old. She saw the doctor Friday and she weighed in at 14 pounds and was 24 3/4 inches long. She is finally into a schedule of naps and bedtime after just a few days of working on that. She takes naps at 10, 12:30, and 3... and then goes down for bedtime at 7:30. We love her so much!

Imagine This

After maybe 5 or 6 hours of sleep last night today I was visited by some Jehovah's Witnesses. I have in the past welcomed people like this into my home and spoken to them and tried to share the gospel with them. This same scenario happened last year about this time, except then it was Mormons. These two ladies had come by before and dropped off some literature and I had scanned it and made notes and Scriptural references to make my case on several topics. One of these ladies has been a Jehovah's Witness for 40 years and on her day off goes and shares door to door every week. Now, that's lots of practice. I first tell them that I'd like to share the hope I have in me with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15) and that I hope they feel that. I laid out that I don't think Jesus is Michael the Archangel and that Jesus and God the Father are one and we even got into what happens when you die and the 144,000!! Two and a half hours later the lady asked me something and I had no idea what she said, but I said "I don't know." My sleep deprived brain just wouldn't function anymore. They say their coming back. Please pray that I defend Truth and know what to do about this. Any advise out there?

A Week Of Milestones

Saturday Gwen slept in her crib for the first time. She also has learned how to roll over by herself. I've heard it just happens overnight and basically... the first night I put her in her crib I came back and she was on her back and I had put her on her tummy. I guess she finally had room to move. Gripe of the day... why do retirement firms make it so difficult to roll your money over into another account? Second gripe of the day... I made roasted chicken with citrus from Oprah's trainer's book (Bob Greene) The Best Life Diet tonight for dinner. After about 2 hours of cooking it still wasn't done. Too much effort for just a little citrus taste. Next time I'm just cooking the chicken and then squirting it with some orange juice! Sorry Beks... no pictures today.

Moment To Remember

I suppose all new parents experience a variation of this experience. We think Gwen might be in the early stages of teething. She's drooling, wanting to nurse more frequently, and just plain crabby, especially at night. We took her temp last night and it was slightly elevated- 99.0 As the night wore on she became inconsolable for about 2 hours. I've never experienced her crying like that so I was at a complete loss. I tried everything. Finally around 11pm Ben took her from me so I could have a break even though all that meant was me sitting on the bed crying and praying for wisdom. Here lately when Ben is trying to console Gwen he sings "Edelweiss" from The Sound of Music. I guess last night he sang that so much it was time for a song change. Through my tears sitting on the bed I witnessed a miracle. Ben turned on the bathroom light and Gwen caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and stopped crying. That's when I heard it... Ben's new song choice. It was that song that says "play that funky music white boy." So there I was with tears coming down laughing my head off. She settled down after that and went to sleep. Ben says we need to remember that moment. This morning I was looking at her when she woke up and, no kidding, she opened her eyes, raised her head, looked at me and grinned.

Save The Rainforests

Last night Ben and I went out, with Gwen along, to the Rainforest Cafe. I've never been there before, but it was pretty unique. It had animals everywhere and moss hanging everywhere. I was a little nervous with Gwen there because they told us that every 30 minutes there was a thunderstorm and all the animals come to life when the thunderstorm happens. I could just imagine every kid in the house having a meltdown at that point... including mine. She did fine through the thunderstorm and even fell asleep amidst the gorillas beside us making their sounds every once in a while.

yesterday with Gwen


This guy who makes balloon animals came around and I had all of 30 cents on me so I didn't get a balloon animal, but I snapped a picture of someone else's. That guy is brilliant!

In the restaurant there was a golden statue holding up a sign that says "rescue the rainforests". I told Ben to take a picture of us in front of the golden calf. Yes, I know... I'm stunning with no makeup. :)


the "golden calf."

Mr Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra

I keep seeing a new commercial for JetBlue with a song from my past: Mr Blue Sky by the Electric Light Orchestra - a CLASSIC! I remember when Jonny Matthews from our church in Cardiff first introduced me to this song one night at a youth bible study. Everything gets a little "trippy" at the end, but you can just imagine how back in the 70s all the folks on acid went nuts over this stuff.

Here's the full music video complete with 70s afros!


posted by Ben

Newfs of Hazard

Last night Ben and I went on a date night and we shared some dal (lentils) at an Indian place. My favorite! Afterward, I wanted to go to the Lazyboy furniture place next door but Ben wanted to go to a nursery (for plants) that he had seen. We ended up going to the nursery and when we got there it was 5 minutes until it closed so I just sat in the car. Ben had a specific plant in mind... a Chinese primrose or something or other. I was just sitting there and staring out the window and a car pulled up beside me. In the car was a man and the largest dog's head I'd ever seen in my entire life. I wasn't trying to be rude, but I was staring. The guy got out of the car and I said (my window was down) "hi, sorry to stare, but that is the biggest dog I've ever seen." He kind of chuckled and went inside. He came back out and looked over at me and said "well, do you want to pet him?" I said "SURE!" So when Ben came out of the nursery with his $6 plant (he was very happy) I was standing with a stranger petting his dog. It turns out that this dog is a Newfoundland male. He told me to go to a website called Newfs of Hazard and I can see baby pictures of him. I couldn't resist that! I let my brother borrow my camera for his trip to Alabama, so I don't have pictures of me and the dog. Boy, was I sorry I couldn't get a photo.

baby Newfoundlands


a grown male Newfoundland. I asked Ben what he thought and he said "you'd need a snow shovel for a pooper scooper."

Baby Face

Sittin' On The Dock Of The Prairie

Sipping hot chocolate and thanking God for all He's done while watching a sunset... now that's a nice evening! It's getting cooler now and we've been eating dinner every night on our veranda... um, our deck. I like the way veranda sounds. I know I put in the title "dock", but that was just to see if you were paying attention.

I like that in this first photo Preston's cup says "smile". Is that funny to only me? Probably so...


Look at the dimples! I hope you all don't mind all the Gwen photos. I just can't get enough of this kid!


Daddy Ben and baby Gwen.

Tummy Time

What can I say? She's so precious!

Happy Baby

I just couldn't resist posting these. She is changing so much and is so cute!

Let's Get Real

Ok, so normally I censor this blog down to basically positive and amusing tidbits of our family life. Today I have a bit of real life... uncensored for your enjoyment. Here I sit typing with one hand (I've got to brag... I'm getting pretty good) with a sleeping Gwen in my other arm. It seems that she wakes up every time I set her down these days. I mean, can you believe she prefers a warm and squishy lap to a cold hard baby bassinet thing? :)

Yesterday at church the sermon was on attitudes and featured the story of Ruth and Naomi. Naomi (which means delightful) changed her name to Marah (bitter)... while poor Ruth, a foreigner to the Jewish people served a bitter lady with no relief or hope of marriage in sight. So, our challenge was to take inventory and see how our attitudes have been lately. I have to confess... cooking for someone that can't have much sodium and shopping for specialty things has been my attitude challenge of late. I can't use canned anything hardly and only fresh meat... frozen has broth and salt added. As I try to find cans of diced tomatoes with no salt added with a three month old having a melt down... well, you can imagine! I'm sure some of you are reading this especially those of you living in other countries and saying "girl, you haven't even seen frustrating"... but I digress... I confessed all of that to the Lord and little did I know I was going to have a pop quiz the very next morning.

This morning Gwen woke me up at 6am ready for some food. I nursed her and then laid her down on the bed to change her diaper. Can you tell where this is going already? I had a blanket underneath her because I've had her pee on my bed before. So today I was being really careful- off with the wet diaper and immediately on with the new under her. I had the new diaper under her and BAM... you guessed it. She pooped on the blanket, all over my pajamas, on the bed. I have never actually seen her in the act of doing this... but let's say it was dramatic. I think my exact words were "you've got to be kidding me." So after cleaning her, myself, and stripping the sheets and matress cover... oh, and two more diapers in the span of 10 minutes I was still holding it together. I finally laid down with her on the bare mattress to see if I could get more sleep, but alas... she was ready to be up. Such is the life of a mother I think. Here I sit smiling out of sheer sleep deprivation and love for this little person named Gwen.

For Fun

On The Home Front

tajing a nap while mama cooks...


today's project. He worked very hard on it.



We recently finished painting our living room. Here's a before shot. (and no, that's not a tennis ball flying at the camera... that's glare)


Here's after. We're not sure what we think about it honestly. Why can't I decorate like the people on TV?

On The Farm

Today Gwen and I went and visited Ben's Grandma and Grandpa. I always bring my camera because you just never know when a photo opportunity will arise. This that I'm holding is a sweet potato. I know what you're thinking... what's the deal with you and large produce... well, I have nothing to say to that other than- can you believe how big this thing is????


Grandma and the tater


Grandpa and the tater


We took a ride to look at trees. That, after all, is what you do in the country. Gwen loved it.


On other news, I just got a teapot. Isn't it cute?

Conversation With Gwen

Today our Gwen turns 3 months! She discovered her voice yesterday... precious!

Big Strawberry

Ok, so some of my blog posts are a little corny... a little silly... well, that's me. I figure someone out there appreciates my eye for the unusual. Anyway, I was casually eating strawberries tonight and out pops this one out of the carton. I couldn't believe my eyes! What kind of hot houses are they raising these things in?


Me and the strawberry... or is it the strawberry and I?


Even Gwen was amazed.