Brielle's First Feeding

Some people say, "Back when I was waiting on tables." Well, for me that time is NOW. 

But it's certainly not a problem when you have something as sweet as this to wait on.

She barely fit in the high chair as I got ready to feed her the first bite of "real food".

We started with rice cereal.

She was excited about what was going on....at first.

But then, not so much.

We tried it again.

But her lips were locked.

Since then, she continues to keep them shut tight.  My "Sweet Pickle" doesn't like baby food!  I have been trying everything but she still locks her lips.  Then only thing I can get her to open her mouth for, without prying them with a spoon, is carrots and sweet potatoes.  I've tried Cheerios, baby puffs, and Kix.  She just cries and chokes.  This is going to be a long road, I think. 

Okay, Brielle, I tget it.  My milk is soooo good that you don't want anything else.  Thanks for the compliment, Little One.  But really, my Sweet Suckling, we need to move on....

Galina on Display

Well, she got it.  Her first time in front of an audience. 

At CBS (Community Bible Study) this past week Galina's class got to show off by singing for all the women. 

Unfortunately I didn't get a very good seat.  Plus our camera is not great so my pics didn't turn out the best.  On the other hand, the entertainment was top notch!

Galina didn't disappoint.

Even when she was the only one sitting, distracting the others around her.  For a while it was up, down, up down.  Between waves and SHOUT OUTS to mommy of course.  (For those of you who don't know Galina, she can be very, very loud.)

Here she is praying.  Nothing melts my heart like seeing her pray.

There was a song about being a friend.

Galina made sure everyone knew that, "This is my friend, Mommy!"

A fun morning for both Galina and her proud mommy....who everyone knew by the end of the concert, by the way.

Book Review- Choosing Gratitude

Honestly, I wasn’t very excited to read Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, but I agreed to review it for Moody Publishers. Wow! Was I surprised! This book held so much more than I was expecting. Author DeMoss states that gratitude is not merely a second-tier virtue in the Christian life--it is vital. At first I was doubtful, but by the end of the book, I agreed. This “Christian gratitude” recognizes what we’ve received first and foremost from God including the blessings we receive from others. Although sometimes these blessings come disguised as problems and difficulties. This gratitude also acknowledges God as the Giver of every good gift. And finally, this gratitude expresses appreciation to Him and others for those gifts.

Several new thoughts ideas spoke to me. For example, how choosing gratitude rescues from me from runaway emotions. That gratitude has a transforming power to it. And how a grateful child of God can’t help but be a joyful, peaceful, radiant person. That’s the person I want to be.

The book concludes with a thirty day challenge. It’s a devotional guide attempting to move from theory into practice.

I highly recommend this book. It put a whole new perspective on life for me and has made me more intentional on how I live my life.

Parenting "Rules"

I came across this and thought it was humorous and sprinkled with a bit of truth....
1. The later you stay up, the earlier your child will wake up the next morning.
2. For a child to become clean, something else must become dirty.
3. Toys multiply to fill any space available.
4. The longer it takes you to make a meal, the less your child will like it.
5. Yours is always the only child who doesn't behave.
6. If the shoe fits...it's expensive.
7. The surest way to get something done is to tell a child not to do it.
8. The gooier the food, the more likely it is to end up on the carpet.
9. Backing the car out of the driveway causes your child to have to go to the bathroom.
10. The more challenging the child, the more rewarding it is to be a parent...but you usually have to work overtime to get that reward.

Spinach Lasagna's Guts Casserole

If you like the inside stuff of lasagna, you'll love this super easy, super healthy recipe.  I can scoop this stuff up like no one's business!  It's so good!

Spinach Lasagna's Guts Casserole

1 (10 oz) bag fresh spinach, rinsed, dried and cut into bite sized pieces

1 (24 oz) carton ricotta cheese

1/2 C Parmesan cheese

4 eggs, beaten

2 tsp dried parsley

dashes of salt and pepper

Preheat to 350.  Mix all ingredients and dump into a greased 9x13 dish.  Bake for 45-60 min until eggs are set.  Enjoy!

Book Review - The Voice

The Voice is a unique version of the New Testament. This Bible’s format is similar to a screenplay‘s. This is to enhance the beauty and story of scripture. It’s a narrative intended to provoke emotion and understanding in the reader that often gets lost in the translation process.


Thomas Nelson Publishers and the Ecclesia Bible Society joined together to create this Bible. A team of writers, scholars, poets, and storytellers have embraced the way a new generation processes ideas and information and used it to create The Voice. They argue that people today are more apt to interact with events and characters through observations involving emotions, tangible experiences, cognition, and spiritual sensitivity. They used that knowledge to create “a fresh expression of a timeless narrative.”

A few things that I especially liked about The Voice (besides it’s screenplay format and easy readability) included outline boxes which were scattered throughout to expand on the text, similar to Bible notes in a study Bible. This gives the reader background knowledge and cultural significance of what was happening in the text. They also used italic type to indicate words not directly tied the original language in order to remain faithful and as objective as possible.

This was a very creative and interesting Bible. I would strongly recommend it for casual reading or as a companion to a more traditional translation. I agree that The Voice brings about more emotion, understanding, and thinking than a tradition text. It reminded me of The Message in some ways. However, I would consider it an accompaniment and not be used solely for intense Bible study. I plan to use it as a nightstand reading tool to greater increase my love of scripture and ultimately, my love of the Lord.

This post was possible because I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishing.  The opinions are my own.  I was not paid for reviewing this book for them.

Fun Trash

If you have two minutes, you can make this trash bunny. 

It's something fun to do with the Sunday paper and a couple of grocery bags.

Hippidy-hoppidy, Easter's on its way!

Spring Break Zoo Trip

It's Treyton's spring break this week and we began by taking advantage of the beautiful weather by going to the zoo.  Treyton's friend, Michael, joined us. 

Galina made sure to scope out the scene by studying the map.

It was a fun morning for us all.

Here's Galina roaring at the lion.

And Treyton studying it.

Typical of their personalities, I'd say.

When we circled over to the giraffes, we encountered a zoo guy with a giraffe pelt.  The kids were able to touch it and become obsessed with what happened to the "dead giraffe".  Oh brother.

My two (big) babies and I at our first zoo trip of the season.  (Not pictured is Brielle hanging out in the stroller.)  What a major blessing to be a stay-at-home mom!  I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Footprint Bunnies

With Easter being just around the corner, I decided to have the kids do a fun little craft.  We started off by making footprints on paper.

The kids loved their feet being tickled with the paintbrush.  Loads of laughs!

Then we used paper plates for the face and glued on some googley eyes and string wiskers.

Next came the nose.

Then I had the kids (minus Galina) cut out their footprints and tape them to the back of the plate to form the ears.

Here are Treyton and his friend, Seiban, with their finished products.

Ta-dah!

A Close Call

I went to MN last week for a few days to introduce Brielle to my family.  It started out great.  The first day I was there my mom and I met my pregnant sister, Amy, and brother Brent for lunch.

Then my mom and I headed to a friend's house.  My mom and her mom are friends too.  While we were visiting, a horrible thing happened.  My dad had a heart attack - cardiac arrest.  We got the call as we were leaving the friend's neighborhood.

That's when desperation sunk in.  We didn't know how long he'd be out, what exactly happened, or if he'd ever come out.  The people at the hospital didn't either.  We weren't given much hope at all.  All we had was prayer and each other.  It was horrible. 

Preggo Amy with her son, Carter, and hubby, Jake, came over to pass the evening. 

Brielle and Carter got to play together for the first time.

We visited him several times with no responses.  We left after visiting on Sat morning, still no signs of improvement.  However, later that morning we got a call that said he squinted when a light was shined in his eyes.  A reaction!  A little later he was asked to wiggle his toes and he did.  These were excellent signs!

After lunch they called as he had opened his eyes and was asked his name to which he replied, "Don."  Praise the Lord!  We headed back to the St. Paul hospital that was treating him eager to see some life in our loved one.

Boy did we ever!

He was awake!  He was reactive.  He even knew who we were!  Praise the Lord!!!!

His short term memory was fried.  He kept asking what happened to him and didn't remember things we said.  But he was alive.

We tired him out and needed to give him some rest so we left with renewed hope.

We met on Sun back at the hospital to celebrate.  My dad hadn't any memory of us being there the previous day.  I guess short term memory loss is common in his situation. 

But he could stand, eat, and even joke around!  Here are my neice and nephew Madina and Marat.

Here's my brother Brent.  Marat and Madina are his kids.

Along with his lovely wife, June, who is meeting Brielle for the first time here.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

My dad has a signature kiss he gives me: loud, juicy, obnoxious.  He remembered and delivered!

Although he doesn't remember me being there, I will remember these moments forever.

An update:  I have spoken with him on the phone each day since I left and he is impoving every day.  Praise God! So many peope have been praying for him and our family.  Thank you if you are one of those!  His short term memory is improving, and he is now home.  He can't do stairs much and must take it easy, but everyday is progress.  What a miracle!  Even the doctors were optimistic.  He proved them wrong.  Go Father go!

Is 41:10 - So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
 
Is 40:31 - but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Book Review - Read & Share: The Story of Easter

The Story of Easter by Gwen Ellis from Tommy Nelson Publishing is a retelling of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in a way that is simple and easy for a child to comprehend.  The text used in the book is from the International Children's Bible.  It takes the reader through the last week of Christ's life including His entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey (Palm Sunday) through His ascension into heaven. 

The book is very straightforward with a clear message.  I read it to my two and four year old who were captivated, the true test of any children's book. They'd heard the general Easter story before, but some of the details were new to them.  The illustrations helped explain the text very well and were just plain fun to look at.  As a parent, I especially liked the added questions and thoughts at the end of each segment.  It helped solidify the concepts shared in the text.  And as a bonus, there is also a short DVD included (about 15 minutes) which also has coloring pages you can print out.  Overall, I highly recommend this no-nonsense rendition of the Easter story.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers at no cost to evaluate.  The above comments are strictly my own.  I was not paid for this post.

St. Patty's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Grateful to Have Girls

I've never been so happy to have more laundry in my life.  The increase is due to Galina's recent success with potty training.  Praise the Lord!  Only 1 kid in diapers.  Feels good to be at that stage again.

To celebrate being a "big girl", I painted Galina's nails.  And toes.

But I couldn't resist.

She was reading.

I took the opportunity to do some decorating.

On Brielle.

I painted her toes!

It's fun having girls.