For the first time

We did it, we sure did it. After talking about it for nine months we actually did it tonight for the first time. I was so scared and I thought I would have done it when he was six months old, but didn't feel right about it till now. It was so hard to leave him so hard to say good bye. I just backed away waving my hand and turned my back as he stared at me leaving. Jason and I walked hand in hand to our destination and were not interrupted the whole time. We sat there peacefully and enjoyed ourselves. My mind wondered how he was doing and if he missed us. As soon as it ended, we quickly picked him up, I hugged and kissed him as we left the nursery for the first time!

The Last of a decade

Well, tomorrow I will be turning 29! I had wanted to be married, with kids, in a house, and to have taught several years by the time I was 30. I am so blessed to say that I have done all of those things. I did want to be done with kids by the time I was 30, but obviously that won't be happening. Which I am okay with, I want to enjoy Blake as long as I can before having another baby enter our lives.

Jason out did himself this year for my birthday. On Saturday, he woke me up with several strokes on my feet as I was sleeping in bed. I turn around to see him standing by my side with a candle in my favorite doughnut and coffee. He stood there and sang just the last part of "happy birthday to you". He gave me the cutest card ever!

My sister Janna, which Blake just LOVES...came and watched Blake for us. She is a lifesaver to be able to allow us free babysitting.

Then we got ready and we started off on our little surprise birthday day for me. He didn't tell me where we were going, but I could tell after a while we were headed to the city. As we walked down the city streets, I didn't know where we were going, but he whisked me into the door of this place. I didn't see a sign for it, but I finally did ask him..where we were. He took me to a restaurant that I had wanted to go to for so long...The Grand Lux. It was beautiful. We didn't have to wait long at all and even got a window seat. We had awesome food with a great Key Lime pie to top off our meal. During the meal, Jason kept saying he couldn't wait for the next part of my surprise he was so excited. After we ate we walked a little on Michigan Ave. It was so fun! I spotted one of my favorite stores: Express. Jason said perfect, we can go shop there after your next surprise. We turned the corner and low and behold there was a horse and carriage, we went on a horse and carriage ride in the city. I have always wanted to do that, and finally was able to. The snow began to fall as we were on our ride and the sound of hte horses hooves and bells made it so Christmas like, it was perfect. We got off the carriage and headed to Express where I was able to get several items. It was the best birthday I think I have ever had. I usually celebrate my birthday on Christmas Eve..my actual birthday, but I told Jason that this year maybe we can do a separate day for my birthday. We did, and it was wonderful. Jason did a great job of preplanning everything...even Janna coming to babysit. As we were ending our day together Jason looked down at me and said, "Wow..I really have to think about how to out do this for your 30th!"

Not Sure

This Christmas Season is hard for me this year. I am overwhelmed by those around me who are in such great need. I hurt for them, cry for them, and pray for them so much. I wish God would give these people what they NEED...not so much wants...but what they NEED right now. It breaks my heart. I have been so blessed in so many areas, but I want those around me to have those same blessings. Who am I to have received all this from the Lord. Why did he choose me to have so much and more than I NEED. I am so grateful, but then feel so bad for those who NEED so much more right now. I can only hope this Christmas, that God will meet the needs and desires of those around. That sometime soon I can blog about the overwhelming flowing of God's blessing that has been poured out upon family and friends of mine.

Equal Time

The time that Blake has been alive has been the same amount of time he was in my belly. Blake is 9 months old on Wed. Dec. 24th! We had his nine month appointment today. He is 50th percentile for height (28inches) and weight (20 lbs) and 90th for his head measurement.
At this point Blake can
* Stand while holding on to things
* Say mama and dada (doesn't associate the words to us)
* Spin himself around while sitting
* Scoot backwards
* Pincer grasp
* Eat Gerber puffs
* Eat yogurt
* Drink out of a cup with my assistance
* Lift his body off the ground to his torso
* Give kisses to himself in the mirror
* Sits in a big boy car seat since last week
* Since about a month ago he reaches his hand out to mine to dance
* Claps when other clap
* Still has only 3 teeth
* When I say HI in a high pitch voice, he repeats sound in a high pitch voice
* Screams when he wants something and can't reach it or we won't let him have it
* Is into the remotes

Still working on: crawling, and moving from furniture to furniture, waving bye bye, doing how big is blake, and staying on his stomach longer than 30 sec.

Chef

If you could choose one famous Chef to cook for you who would you choose? I have some thoughts on who some of you would pick???!!!

Great idea

So I wanted to do a cookie exchange with new recipes and a friend suggested to post the cookies on the blog...so if you are reading this and have a favorite christmas cookie recipe please post it on your blog!

Mine is snowball cookies...they are easy to make, festive, and get tons out of it!

3 sticks of butter 3 cups flour
3/4 cup powder sugar 1 2/3 cup of Nestle toll house white choc swirl
1 tbsp. vanila 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
1/2 tsp salt Extra powder sugar

Preheat oven to 375-ungreased cookie sheet

1) Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl until creamy
2) Gradually beat in flour
3) Stir in morsels and nuts
4) Shape into level tablespoons on dough. They do not flatten out, they stay rounded so you can get alot on a cookie sheet.
5) Bake 10-12 min. when it comes us, remove and sprinkle with powder sugar.

MMMMMM MMMMMM GOOD! Really good by itself or dipped in Hot chocolate or coffee!

Blogger friends

I wish all my blogger friends lived close by...we then could do a cookie swap with recipes.

12 days

I told Jason today that I wanted to do a 12 days of Christmas with Blake every year as our tradition.

So for example we would count backwards on Dec.

25th- Read the Christmas story
24th-Sing happy birthday to me
23rd- Sleep under the Christmas tree
22nd- Read the gingerbread boy and make the gingerbread man cookie
21st- Have hot chocolate and watch our favorite Christmas movie as a family
20th-
19th
18th
17th
16th
15th- Write letter to santa of what is wanted for Christmas
14th- Sing 12 days of Christmas through out the day and then make up our own version


So as you can see, I don't have anything for several days....any ideas that wouldn't cost money and we can easily do every year???!!!

It makes sense!

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

On my mind

Lately, on my mind I have been thinking about what is my vision for my life. All I ever wanted in life was three things:
1) Be a wife
2) Be a teacher
3) Be a mother

I have done all those things and now have been pondering what is next for me. Of course I will continue to be a wife and mother, but what else is it that God wants me to do with my life as a stay at home mother? I am not sure. I know that I need to ask God for a vision for my life and my family. I want to strive for something more than just going through the daily routine of life. Wonder what it is the Lord will show me.

ON another note...here are some pics of Thanksgiving weekend. We made gingerbread houses and had tons of fun all weekend with the family! Blake loved his first big Holiday! He can't wait for Christmas!!!

Sweet 35

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband who is 35 today! I am truly grateful for the man that God has allowed me to be married to. I am so glad the Lord created Jason to be born on this day. He has become my steadiness in my world of chaos. He is such a hard worker who does whatever it takes to provide for the family. I love how he is a hands on father and looks forward to spending time with Blake. Not only is he a hands on father, but is so willing to help out around the house too. He supports me in my desires to workout and eat healthy. Ugh...I can't imagine being without this man. What a true treasure I found and cheers to my husband...happy birthday!

23

My sweet little sister is 23 years old. We are 6 years apart in age. Growing up we weren't all that close. I was a teenager and she was in elementary school. I was always so shocked by what interested her. She loved musicals, plays, and took voice lessons. We were so different in many ways. As she has grown up and matured I have grown to respect her and look up to her. Janna is someone who speaks her mind and knows how to put up healthy boundaries. I admire her for being so confident in who she is and who Christ has created her to be. Now that Janna only lives 15min away from me, I get to see her almost whenever I want. We run together, we watch TV together, we cook together, we shop together, we find recipes together, we talk about secrets together, we confide in one another, we cry together, and we swap clothes from one another, we call one another daily and sometimes have nothing to talk about but just are on the phone mumbling about life. I didn't think that Janna would end up being one of my best friends as we were growing up...but now that we are older I can honestly say she is one of the best friends I could ever ask for. Cheers to Janna and happy 23rd birthday!

All 4 of Us

During this hard time we are going through with grandpa, I have to say a smile was brought to my face yesterday. All the Elton kids made it to the hospital to see grandpa and support the family. As soon as Bethany heard the news of what was the latest, she left the party she was at to be by the families side. My brother drove home from TIU to see grandpa and spent several hours at the hospital. During this hard time, family and the Lord are the stability that we all have.

As Thanksgiving approaches and my heart is filled with sadness towards the situation with grandpa, I have to say that God has blessed me and I am so thankful for an immediate family that supports, encourages, and prays for one another. As my dad said yesterday, if he had nothing at all, he would still be happy with having us kids and his wife who serves and loves the Lord...to him that means he has everything.

My scripture for today....

Jeremiah 17:7, “"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.” (NIV)

Failure

There are somethings lately that have happened where I feel like a failure as a mother and wife. I can't take back my mistakes, I just hope it doesn't harm us too much in the future. It stinks when you give all that you have to something and someone, sometimes you still mess up and have ramifications for it. I know that God's mercy and grace can cover my mistakes and failures, but sometimes the mistakes have long term effects. It doesn't help when people point out to you that you have messed up when you yourself are your biggest critic. Hopefully some good will begin to happen and I can grow into a better wife and mom from these mishaps!

Wonderful

My husband is wonderful for MANY reasons,but one of the recent reasons why he is wonderful was put into place this past weekend. While I was gone for several days Jason kept the house clean and he did three loads of laundry...he is wonderful!

Expired

I have this thing about checking expiration dates on food. Thankfully I do that because I have thrown away several things out my fridge and families fridge of food that is way past being good. Not only that, but even at stores I have also have had to return food because of just purchasing it and seeing that it has already expired. Well in the paper today, it said that 33% of people ignore expiration dates on food....I am so glad I am not apart of that 33%!

One more week

We have one more week left of Blake's helmet! I can't wait for him to get it off. I will miss his little chubby cheeks though. But once I can kiss his little face all over and snuggle him without the helmet getting in the way, I won't miss the helmet at all!

Repost from another Blogger

TEN THINGS I SPEND MONEY ON AND WHY:

1) Groceries including baby food - because we need to eat and live

2) Diapers- because I want a clean son without a diaper rash

3) Clothes for Blake- he needs to be in warm clothes that fit him

4) Haircuts - want to look presentable and not homeless

5) Gas- so I am not stuck in my house as a stay at home mom

6) Gym membership- want to be in shape

7) Texting- yes...I usually go over so I have added expense each month than the regular bill

That is honestly all that I spend money on regularly....

Hmmm not a big spender!

Language

I wish my husband and I had the same love language then it would be easier to meet one another's needs.

Suggestions please

Alright, the winter is fast approaching as the leaves have mostly fallen off the trees outside. The last of the warm weather is now behind us and I am thinking about what to do this winter. For you stay at home mom veterans, what are some ideas you have to help the long winter afternoons go by fast before the husban comes home?

PS- Blake is so cute when he knows he is going to eat or nurse...he smacks his little lips and moves his mouth. Ugh I just love that boy! It's amazing how I love him more and more each day.

I am working with him on several things right now:
* to do "How big is Blake?" and throw his arms in the air
* to roll over from back to stomach ( hopefully leading to crawling)
* to actually stay on his stomach
* to wave bye bye
* to point to the light

Hopefully by the end of the holiday season in January we will have accomplished all those things and much more!

Fall Pictures

I don't know what it was about today, but for some reason the activity that we did really made me feel like a mom. Blake and I went to the library for story time. All the kids dressed up in their costumes and we read stories and sang songs together. I had so much fun, and I think Blake really enjoyed himself too. I am grateful that my husband has a job that can support me staying home and doing fun stuff with our son!

Also are some pictures of us at a bonfire with my niece and nephew.

Honestly, no way!

I attend a Bible study weekly and was shocked by somethings that were discussed this past week. A mom asked the group of women (mostly in their 40's) what she should do about a certain situation. She said that when she dropped off her 5 year old daughter to a birthday party there was two women dropping of another little girl and as they dropped her off the two women were holding hands and kissing. This mother in my Bible study didn't know what or how to explain to her little innocent daughter about what just occurred. The leader of our group gave such simple insight and just said look up Bible verses and explain to her what we believe and why we believe it. Always go to the Bible for your foundation of raising your child.

Then another mom chimed in and said that on her daughter's recommended reading list for school was titles about having two mommies (meaning lesbians). I was floored. I couldn't believe that a third grader was having suggested to her books that have to do with lesbians.

A women then spoke up in our group that said while she was on vacation in San Fransico an elementary class took a unique field trip. The field trip was going to the teachers wedding, the sad thing is that it was to another women. I think was even more heart wrenching was that only four families decided not to go...every other student went!

If I think it's bad now....I can't imagine how it will be five years from now.

I was talking with a friend several months ago and she really said something that hit home to me. She mentioned how she prays for her little 7 month old boy all the time. I agreed and said I needed to pray for Blake more. I was telling her how I pray for him to be strong, to be a leader, to know Jesus at a young age, for his future wife....and she said I pray for my son that he wouldn't fall into pornography. I thought oh man...she is right. Now adays it's so readily available to people and men struggle with it so much, i really need to pray that for Blake.

Since these recent conversations I have had with these women, I have been so worried about my son. Worried about the temptations he will have to face. Worried about how he will have to deal with homosexuality being around so much more. Worried about people robbing of his innocence at such a young age. Worried about him not being the norm in his beliefs. I then remember my Bible study leader saying over and over...just go to the Bible for how to raise your children and how to teach them what is right and what is wrong and why we believe it.

I know this world we live in is hard for adults to live right now, but I can't imagine how hard it will be for Blake to be a Christian in the years to come at when he is in school.

Many are saying we are living the "labor pains" of the end times. I don't like to think about it too much because it just hurts my brain if that makes sense. I know that things will get harder as a Christian and I need to be prepared as a mother to know how to be able to handle those hard times. I want Blake to stay a precious innocent little boy as long as he can and don't want the world to rob that from him prematurely.

Won't be doing that for awhile...

I will not be feeding Blake prunes for awhile. He had two REALLY bad diapers that Jason and I had to tag team and change together.

7 months

Blake is seven months old today. It's so crazy to think my little precious baby boy is 7 months old! I went shopping for winter clothes for him and bought 6-9 months. I went home and played doll with him and tried on all his new clothes. Sad to say, I had to return them and get 12 months for him. Blake has been said by many who know him and strangers who see him for the first time what a laid back baby he is. He LOVES people...always smiling at them and making them think they are his favorite! He went with me twice to get my hair done which took over an hour and he just sat there in the stroller and played with his toys and looked around. He did fantastic. He is now noticing details, like buttons in my shirts, or designs on my sweater. When he plays, he transfers the object from hand to hand. He loves to laugh and babbles a whole lot more saying bahhh bahh maaa maa and his little cheeks move up and down like an old man with no teeth. Honestly the cutest things ever! Blake is having a bit trouble with napping, but goes to bed at 8:00 every night and doesn't even fuss!

This picture I posted reminded me of one my little brother took in a Chicago Bears jogging suit he wore when he was little. Never did I think Richie's tiny chubby hands would be able to grasp the whole football. As I look at this picture of Blake, it's hard to imagine his tiny precious innocent hands will grasp that of a football someday!

I try to enjoy each moment Blake lets me hold and snuggle him . He is much more aware of his surroundings, so those moments are getting to be much less.

As he is developing, more and more people are saying he looks like me. Not sure myself yet. I think features are me, but body build for sure Jason!

You are not serious!!!!

As I pulled out of my garage at 5:00am this morning, I was noticing the stars in the sky. It was so beautiful. It's not often you see stars because of all the lights that are surrounded by my house. I was in awe trying to remember the constellations from when I was little. I noticed the little dipper and was trying to find the big dipper. As I was driving to the gym, I was just listening to music relaxed when all of a sudden a car pulled right in front of me. I flashed my lights to let them know that it was too close to my car and could have been dangerous. Soon I came to a stop light and the car that pulled in front of me stopped right next to me when it could have very well inched up several feet. You know when someone is staring at you...right? You just get that feeling...well..this lady is staring at me and I look at her...she points to the side and says, " Let's fight!" I am thinking are you serious? You have to be joking? Well, needless to say, I looked at her and turned and faced forward and ignored her. I ended up pulling into some town homes just so she wouldn't follow me.

Hmm a morning of peacefulness before my workout ended up with me kind of scared and thinking are you serious me fight you? yeah right!!!!

Pumpkin Farm

Each year my family had the tradition of going to the pumpkin farm. When I started dating Jason, we also went and enjoyed that tradition together. Now that Blake is here, we were so excited to have him go for the first of many years to come. Here are some pics we took on our family fun filled day! Yes....I am biased and I may say so myself that Blake is the cutest pumpkin in the patch!

I am not lying....

Today I made a dessert that costs me $1. 60. I made a chocolate cake with one can of diet pop in it. It was so good! I am not lying. The batter was scrumptious and the cake itself was just as good with a dollop of cool whip on top. Gosh, I love low fat desserts! True test will be when Jason comes home and tries the cake!!!!!

It was totally boring....SIKE!

We had a surprise 30th birthday party for Bethany that was an 80's murder mystery. We had so much fun! She was so surprised....it was great. Here are some pictures of the evening. Her in the white shirt is when she first arrived and then we whisked her away to her outfit for the party! It was so good that finally something was done for Bethany. She is always planning things and parties for others and last night the table was finally turned!