28 week baby bump

Can hardly believe it, but I am in my last trimester now. Wow! The time is going by so fast.

Homemade waffles

After making this recipe we no longer buy frozen ones. They are that good! I guarantee that you will feel the same.

Homemade waffles

2 c. milk
1/2 c. (melted) butter
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
4 t. baking powder
2 1/2 c. flour
2 T. sugar

Mix all wet ingredients together then add the dry. Do not over mix.
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One of my favorite toppings for waffles is fried apples. My mom used to make these for us. Brings back good memories.

It's not an exact recipe. You just slice like 3 apples really thin (I use one of those apple, corer, slicer things). Melt some butter in a frying pan. Add the apples to the pan along with some honey and cinnamon. Fry until they are soft.

Makes for a yummy breakfast...or supper if you live at our house! :)

Pondering

“One source of man's weariness is the pursuit of things that can never satisfy; but which one of us has not been caught up in that pursuit at some time in our life? Our passions, possessions, and pride- these are all dead things. When you try to get life out of dead things, the result is only weariness and dissatisfaction."- Max Lucado

Thinking on that tonight.

The things I miss

Just to name a few:

My happy yellow Kitchen in our little brown house

Walking down town Port

and feeding the ducks

being able to walk to the library

Having sidewalks to walk on

our favorite parks and playgrounds

Easy access to the beach

Homeschooling

Being able to pick up and go with a friend to do something fun and educational

Family

girls nights and coffee dates with best friends

Getting together with those we love to celebrate:

holidays

babies

birthdays

and just life

Much has changed over the last year. I wouldn't change what God is doing and the exciting journey He has us on now, but it doesn't change the fact that there are things...mostly people that I miss like crazy back home. I'm thankful for what we have waiting for us when we go back home to visit.

Goodbye coffee?

Two weeks ago I came down with this nasty stomach bug. Bill had to stay home from school that morning because I was so sick and could barley take care of myself let alone the kids. The nastyness (I'll spare the details) lasted about 12 hours. I have never been sick like that while pregnant and let me tell you, it's something I never want to experience again! The baby was doing constant somersaults inside me while I was felling sicker then a do, and that did NOT help. Ugh! Anyway, it took about a week before my stomach was actually feeling normal again. During that time I had to give up drinking coffee. My stomach was just too weak to handle it. I was surprised that my body did well going of it (Although it's not as though I drink that much anymore). I didn't get any headaches of caffeine withdraw.

Once I was feeling well again I decided to make myself a nice hot mug! Ahhh, it smelled so good! However within an hour I had a horrible headache. And the headache lasted most of the day. I attributed the headache to something other then coffee...it had to be. But then when the same thing happened after I drank a cup the very next day, I was forced to admit the truth. My coffee drinking days have come to an end. :( My long time love affair was over. Sigh!

I have the feeling though, once this baby is born I can return to having my one cup a day! I'm sure it's better this way. I just wasn't prepared to say goodbye. :)

The baby door

Tonight as Bill and I were putting the boys to bed we had a little conversation about the baby. I asked the boys what they thought we should name their sister. Of course they came up with tons of crazy names (I'll share some of them in a later post). As we were talking I told the boys that they could talk to their sister because she could hear them. Both Ryan and James put their mouths to my stomach. They said a few silly things and then James said, "come out baby." I explained that the baby can't come out yet because she still needs to grow a bit bigger, but she will come out sometime early summer. James then looks at me and says, "She'll come out the door." I asked him where the door was. He pointed to my belly button and said, "There. There is the baby door."

So there you have it. The secret is out. Just in case you were ever wondering what or where the baby door was. :)

Cheesy Quiche

1/4 pound cooked pork sausage
10 eggs
1/4 milk
1/4 sour cream
2 oz cream cheese
1 C. Mozzarella cheese
1 C. Cheddar cheese
Optional: Seasoning salt and onion powder

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Beat eggs, sour cream, cream cheese, and milk in mixer or with whisk until well blended. Add in cooked sausage and Mozzarella cheese. Add a pinch of seasoning salt and onion powder if desired. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes out of the oven before cutting and serving.

The thing I love about this is that you can use whatever you have on hand to make it. I don't usually have sausage on hand but I thought it would taste good added in. It seemed to be a big hit here. Bill said it had a creamy cheesy taste but not too rich. Even Claire who is usually picky ate everything on her plate.

I served this dish with Jasmine rice and a fruit salad (consisting of apples, peaches, bananas and oranges). A fairly inexpensive meal for our family of six.

Upside-down

When I was 16 I traveled with another family from our church to N. Carolina to be their nanny. I can't remember but I think we were there for close to 2 weeks. They had two precious little girls that I was privileged to take care of. It was the perfect job for me. It was like a paid vacation. :) We stayed in this beautiful two story house which was situated right off the ocean. We would walk out the door every morning and across the street to the beach. One afternoon I went swimming in the ocean with the mom of those two girls. Their dad stayed on shore to watch them. The mom wanted to teach me how to jump the waves since it was one of her favorite things to do. It was thrilling. It had to be timed just right. I totally enjoyed it, that is until we jumped too late and a wave overtook us. That moment was totally unexpected to me. Suddenly I was sucked under, tumbling round and round not able to figure out if I was up or down. Panic set in and I wondered if I would ever breath or see daylight again...until it was all over and I was washed up onshore. I was a little scratched up from all the shells and rocks on the ocean floor. I was shaken up quite a bit and unsure if I would ever go back in. But I survived and with a new found respect for the power inside the ocean. I was bruised but not crushed.

Thinking back on this memory I realized something. In that moment of being sucked under and twirling around all hope seems lost. There is confusion and disorientation in the upside-down. That is where I seem to find myself lately. Life for me has been turned and tilted until I am not sure which way is up. Not in an "all hope is lost" sort of way, but it's just been a wide range of emotions swirling around my mind and heart. I find myself being introspective, not wanting to talk as much. Maybe it's because I am just trying to wrap my mind around everything. So many emotions. Sadness, loneliness, anger, numbness, guilt, grief and of course there is happiness and joy mixed up in there too. I know it doesn't help that I am pregnant right now. That always adds to the emotions.

Life has been so busy lately with school. Any free time that I have outside of classes and taking care of my family is spent doing homework. Busyness is good and keeps me distracted but I wonder if it is also a hindrance at times. I find myself not able to fully absorb everything that has happened. To grieve the loss of my mom and to find joy in new life growing inside. In rare moments of quiet or as I lay in bed at night is when the swirling usually begins. My mind goes round and round in an ever confusion of an ocean of emotions, finding myself not really sure how to plant my feet on anything solid.

At some point the wave will break and and the waters will calm (if only for a little bit) and I will wash up on shore - possibly bruised, but certainly not crushed. And I wonder if when I come up on the other side if I might just have a new perspective that I can't fathom right now. That is my hope in the upside down. I don't want to miss what the Lord has to teach me. Like I did with the ocean I want to come up for air with a new found respect for the life He has given me.