Happy Easter!!!

Dan made Indian Cuisine for Dinner! I would much rather have that than ham any day!! It was so great to see Dan's mom! It is always a much needed rest when we go to Gunnison. The drive is long but breathtaking. I was just telling Dan how easy it is to take the mountains for granted! They are beautiful!!

I had to get some pictures of Alex in this Easter outfit before he grew out of it. He is too cute. (By the way we took a million pictures and only got a few keepers, let's just say that Dan and I could not be a photography team taking pictures of children-they are too squirmy and we wouldn't get along)!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!!

Alex's New Favorite Place to Play

It is so funny that even the most flashy toy cannot compare to a Tupperware lid!

Dan and Alex's MegaBlock Castle

Well... really Dan's MegaBlock Castle.

Grandma Long bought Alex some MegaBlocks at the Garage Sale for Adoptions a couple of weeks ago. Alex likes the blocks, Dan loves them! He has been asking me if he can buy legos for Alex before he was even born. Much to his dismay, I said we cannot start the lego collection no matter how much he (Dan) wants to. I argued that I would have to be the one to figure out where to store them. Not only that, if Alex did get into them they are a major choking hazard at 10 months old! Here are a few pics of the MegaBlock fun that Dan and Alex had!! I loved watching them play together!! It melts my heart!

Only By God's Grace

The last couple of weeks have been good but tiring. Last week I had a UTI and this week I am struggling with a cold. I admit that part of me was wishing I could just take a day off and sleep like the good old days. Instead I had to get up and take care of little man. I tried to lay down while he played but he wanted me to play with him. The days I was feeling the worst he didn’t nap as well as he usually does. He seemed to roll around more when I was changing his diaper. My attitude admittedly was not the best and little things were getting on my nerves. Then Dan came down with the same cold and he couldn’t take a day off either because he has a lot of work to do. While I could just roll out of bed and keep little man in his pajamas all day, Dan had to get up and look presentable. He had to speak and participate in adult conversation, act like he felt good to keep his teams motivated. He was out in reality while I was at home with a 10 month old who has all the grace in the world for me. Alex smiles and loves me even when I lose my patience. It makes it hard sometimes because I put a lot of internal pressure on myself – like if I only I could be like so and so, I should cook more meals, I should be better at grocery planning, etc. Dan doesn’t put that pressure on me, but I tend to be hard on myself. I want to be the best mom, friend, and wife I can be. The truth I cannot be good at any of it if I do things in my own strength. The last few posts I have posted about homemade baby food and some of my creative endeavors but I realize that I have a lot more time than most people. I get the privilege of staying home and only have one child to take care of. With that said my heart in the matter is to communicate that I struggle just as anyone does. I am desperate for God to help me daily. Life can be tiring sometimes.

This is where Christ comes in. I have been praying more throughout my day because I have to. My attitude like I said is not always the best and I can get very impatient. I see the ugliness of my flesh and it is not appealing at all. A couple of verses that have been speaking to me lately are listed below:

Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Zephaniah 3:17
“The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”

The truth of the matter is that our flesh is always waging war against our spirit. (Romans 7:15) We will never be the women that God wants us to be if we dwell in the “what if’s”…and the “I should be’s”….we are not perfect in our own strength (Phil. 4:13). We can approach Him at any time (Heb. 4:16). He looks at us as friends (John 15:15). He see’s all that He has created us to be (Eph. 2: 8-10). He wants the best for us (Jer. 29:11). He delights in us. So my goal for today is to anticipate my struggles, meditate on His word and cry out for Him when I need help. As Easter is fast approaching I am so thankful that I am in His care. That He died and rose again so that I could spend eternity with God. My sin no longer separates me from His love (Romans 8:39). That I will see my savior face to face one day!! Thank you Jesus for the sacrifice you made for me even when I didn’t deserve it!! May God strengthen you today and give you peace!!

Artistic Diva..Well Not Exactly...

One of my goals for 2009 was to invest in my creative side. As many of you might know I have a million art supplies. Dan is really into hobbies and is always trying to get me to join in. You could just imagine his delight when he came home from work on Friday to see my new paintings. He was thrilled. This year I have kept up on Alex's baby book and scrapbook which has been great. I have also finally used my sewing machine that my mom got me Christmas of 2007. Dan and I had a running joke that I wouldn't use the sewing machine within the first year of owning it. Of course I couldn't let that happen so I did finally make some baby blankets and burp cloths for a couple of friends in October of 2008 (I had to - my deadline was fast approaching). Recently my good friend who is very creative taught me how to make pillow slip covers. Since she taught me a couple of weeks ago, I have made four pillows covers and have plans to make many more.

My other recent project has been trying my hand at painting. Dan got me a painting set for my birthday probably 2 years ago and I was too scared to really bust it out and give it a real effort. Just a few weeks ago I got an itch to create some art for our family room. I had a few attempts that I was not proud of but recently I created four pieces that I am proud to hang over our fireplace. Who knew a few acrylic paints and some canvas could give me such enjoyment. The key was just having fun and letting go. I had to realize that if I didn't like what I created I could just paint over it or start over. I have a feeling we will have more of my new art displayed and many new pillow covers in the near future. I would encourage anyone who is afraid of letting out their creative side to give it a try, you might find you really enjoy it!!!

"After" Shot of the Family Room

We still have a lot of decorating to do in the family room. We love the shelves. I started to put books and trinkets on them and then Alex came down to play and started taking it all down...so much for my decorating. Some day!!!

Homemade Baby Food...Yeah Baby!

Yeah I said it – Homemade baby food. When people find out I make my own baby food they seem shocked. Surprisingly with the right equipment (food processor and steamer) it is not as time consuming as one might think. I do try whenever possible to make my own baby food. I have really enjoyed making it. I like the fact that I can control what Alex is eating and how the food is prepared. In my opinion it is cheaper, healthier and allows for more variety. The neat thing is you can make a ton of it in advance and freeze it in ice cube trays and store it in food storage bags for up to three months. You can also control the texture of the food for younger and older babies. I have had to feed Alex out of the jar on occasion. A few things like prunes and apricots are hard to do yourself. I have also found that when Alex transitioned to eating chicken it was hard for me to get the right consistency in my food processor, therefore at first we had to start with the jarred stuff. Now that he has a couple of teeth and can mash food with his gums he does not like food from a jar anymore. The reason I am posting about this is because I wanted to share a website that I recently came across. I was looking for different combinations of baby food and finger foods. I love this site because you can search a particular fruit or vegetable to see when it should be introduced. It has sample feeding menu’s for different ages as well as nutrition facts about the different foods. It is very helpful and informative. For example I was looking for finger foods that are protein rich and found a recipe for Apple Turkey Sticks. Alex loved them. They consist of ground turkey, oat bran (I used wheat germ), carrots, apple sauce, basil, garlic powder, and egg yolks. You combine the ingredients and then bake it. I like the fact that I can pronounce all of the ingredients and it is a healthy dinner for little man. Sure, making baby food takes time and planning but to me it is well worth it.

Here is a link to the site: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/index.htm