Sunday, July 25, 2010

Menu for the Week (as long as baby doesn't come...)

Breakfasts:
Waffles
Fruit and yogurt
Blueberry Banana Bread
Oatmeal with fruit

Lunches:
BLTs
Grilled Cheese
Vegetable Fried Rice
Leftovers

Suppers:
M: Ham and potato casserole
T: Chicken Enchiladas with Mexican Rice
W: Penne with pancetta and mushrooms
R: Honey Chicken Stir Fry
F: Homemade Pizza with whole wheat crust
S: Grilled Chicken and Zucchini
S: Sub Sandwiches

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Pregnancy update

I had another ultrasound today (will be 37 weeks tomorrow) and it estimated her weight to be 7lb 6oz already. He said everything is looking great and if she doesn't come in the next 10-14 days we may need to look at induction because of size. I would really like to avoid that as I am still considered a VBAC and would really like to be able to have another one. The hospital I will be delivering at only allows VBACs during the week, not the weekend. I would really appreciate prayer that this baby would come during the week (not a weekend) and that we wouldn't have to induce.

Everything else is going pretty well, just trying to get everything prepared and ready.

Well, I have a little boy saying he's hungry, so I better get dinner ready!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Busy Summer

Well, I realized it has been just about a month since my last post, that is pretty bad! I do have a few reasons for the lack of posting though. Right after I last posted, I went to run some errands. I was gone for only about two hours. When Landon and I got home, the back door was opened. I knew that we had been broken into and waited for Seth to get home to assess the losses. The biggest things they took were our laptop and camera. I always appreciate Seth in situations like this though, he said, "oh well, they're just things." Thankfully, my dad had backed up our pictures and everything back in November, so we only lost about 6 months of pictures. A verse that my sister reminded me of really encouraged me:

Matthew 6:19,20
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
"

Anyway, it's kind of hard to post without a computer... We got a replacement though and a camera is in the mail (hoping to get it before baby gets here!).

We had a nice Fourth of July up in Iowa. It was so fun to be with friends and family. So many of my friends had pregnancy announcements - I can't wait for all these babies! Here is a little clip that my sister, Bekah, took of Landon hearing fireworks... He calls them "Fire engine cracker pops."



Speaking of babies, I will be 36 weeks pregnant tomorrow and things are going really well. I have an ultrasound on Tuesday so we'll see how big she is getting. She was estimated at 5lbs when I was 32 weeks! So, I think we have another big one cooking. I feel so blessed and can't wait to meet this little one. Here's a pic I took with photo booth, not the best, but give you an idea of my growing belly.



We have been working on potty training and Landon is doing quite well. He's been waking up dry 75% of the time and usually has one or two accidents a day, hopefully we'll get to no accidents soon (he hasn't had any today, so we'll see...). I hope he doesn't regress when the baby comes, but we'll just have to deal with it if it comes to that.
Here's a little movie we took a while back of Landon trying to be a potty trainer himself...



Tomorrow thru Saturday we will be having another Neighborhood Bible Club. We are very excited that it worked out to do one this year. I just wasn't sure with the baby coming and all, but I've been feeling well and we're just going to go for it. Seth will be teaching the lessons. The theme is on choices. His lessons will be Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and the two thieves on the cross. Each kid will earn several tickets and have to choose which jar to put them in as each jar will have different candy and prizes associated with them.

We went and handed invitations in the neighborhood and we made several good contacts so we are hoping for a good turn out. I was just reading a passage that encouraged me as I think of God's word going out to these little children:

Jeremiah 23:28-29
"Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the LORD. "Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?"

Pray that Seth will speak God's word faithfully, that God's word would pierce these little hearts, and these children would receive the Lord Jesus as their Savior.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Encouraging Thoughts from Camp and my weekly Menu

Last week, I had the privilege of being the camp nurse for a week at Sooner Bible Camp. It was so nice not having to cook for a whole week! It was a very encouraging time and Landon was a great assistant and trooper.

One of the speakers spoke on 5 of the 7 churches in Revelation. The example of the church of Ephesus was most convicting to me. The Lord praises them for all the things they are doing: for their hard work and toil, their perseverance in hardships, their intolerance for wicked men, etc...
But, the Lord rebukes them saying, "You have forsaken your first love."
Sometimes, it's so easy to get caught up in serving and being busy with things in the body of believers, that we totally miss the point. The Lord wants our hearts.

Psalm 51:17
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."



A HUGE praise from the week at camp. A girl named, Val, has been staying with the Erb family for almost a year and one afternoon at camp, she realized that she was a sinner and that the Lord Jesus paid the complete price for her sin, and she was brought into the Lord's family. What an exciting week!



Val had to leave yesterday to go back to her home in Mexico, we will miss her dearly (sorry, I can't figure out why this picture is so small!)

A Little late on this, but better late than never...

Breakfasts
Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie
Baked Oatmeal
Yogurt Parfaits with homemade granola
Purple Monstrosity Smoothie
Cereal with Fruit

SuppersT:Easy Mexican Casserole with chips and salsa
W: French Dip Sandwiches with homemade bread with a salad
R: Honey Baked Chicken with rice and a salad
F: Homemade Pizza with Broccoli Salad
S: Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp and Basil (minus the shrimp because of Seth’s allergy ☺) with salad
S: Beef Stew with a fruit salad

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Sammy Bear

We decided to spend our Memorial Day weekend in Eureka Springs. We found out that there is a real train that you can ride on, so we've been telling Landon about that. When we were getting all packed up last night,
Landon said, "Bring Sammy bear on the train?" (Sammy bear is the bear we got a while back to remember our sweet Samuel, thanks Brooke and Robin!).
Seth and I looked at each other and smiled. We said, "Sure, we can bring Sammy bear on the train."
Landon replied, "Make Landon happy!" He smiled his cheesy smiled and gave Sammy bear a huge hug.

Even though we don't have our Samuel here on vacation, it's sweet to have this little bear to remember the part he has in our family.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

28 weeks



Everything has been going well with baby girl. I had an ultrasound today and the doctor said everything looks great. She's measuring big like her brother. The ultrasound estimated her weight to be 3lb 4oz. She was in the breech position today. As you can see from this picture, her feet were all the way up by her head - that can't be comfortable!



...and this picture is from about 6 weeks ago.



I'm praising the Lord for these past several months with this little girl. He is a wonderful creator!

Weekly Menu



M:Broccoli-Mushroom Penne Pasta (Two Sisters Cookbook, 137)
T: Chicken Stir Fry with Basmati Rice
W: Grilled Chicken with Potato Salad
R: Homemade Pizza with Whole Wheat crust and a salad
F: Sub Sandwiches and pasta salad
S: Out of Town
S: Out of Town

Monday, May 17, 2010

Menu for the week



Breakfasts:
Waffles with fruit
Banana Muffins with smoothies
Oatmeal with fruit

Lunches:
Quick Quesadlillas (Tortillas with cheese, green chilis, and tomatoes)
Vegetable Fried Rice
Grilled Cheese
Leftovers

Suppers:
M: IHOP with Sophie (another little birthday celebration for Landon)
T: Veggie Stir Fry with brown rice
W: Oven Fried Fish with Tarter Sauce and a salad
R: Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup with bread and a salad
F: Hamburgers with Potato Wedges
S: Lemon-Honey Pasta
S: Carne Asada Chicken (didn't get to this last week) in soft tortillas with chips and salsa

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Landon's 2nd Birthday!

Landon had a wonderful 2nd birthday. We were surprised to find out that my parents and sister, Rebekah, were coming to visit and even more surprised when my other sister showed up with her three kids! We had a blast.

Landon woke up to see his cousins Clayton, Halle, and Logan - he was so excited! We started his day with the family tradition of breakfast in bed.



Later, we had a family party. For the last couple of weeks when we've told him that his birthday is coming up he has said, "Tommy Birthday!" (meaning Thomas the train). We tried to live up to his excitement and I attempted a train cake. He thought it was pretty cool.



Landon with his cousins



Halle and Layla



Finn pulling Layla and Halle in the wagon - strong boy!



Heidi and baby Logan



Baby Zoey



Mom got balloons for all the kids - they really enjoyed them.



Bumpa helping Landon with his Zhu Zhu pet



Landon loved his bath toy trains! I can hardly pry these out of his hands. He even slept with them!



He was so excited to get several Cars - he was especially excited about "To-mater"



He loves his Thomas the train set!



It was so much fun to do a little party for my little boy. I can hardly believe it's been two years since we saw his face for the first time. We are so thankful for our little blessing.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Menu for the week

Breakfasts:
Waffles
Cold Cereal
Granola and Fruit
Pancakes

Lunches:
Pepperoni Rolls
BLTs
Leftovers

Suppers:
M: The best Veggie Sandwich
T: Zucchini and Potato Bake with greek pasta salad
W: Lettuce Wraps
R: Pasta Pomodoro
F: Ham and Potato Soup (never got to this one last week)
S: Carne Asada Chicken on Tortillas
S: Grill out

Monday, April 26, 2010

Menu for the week

Breakfasts:
Breakfast Burritos (for Seth to take to work, hopefully they turn out yummy!)
Oatmeal with cinnamon, raisins, and bananas
Waffles dipped in applesauce (Landon just loves to dip things, so I try to think of healthy dipping options...) with strawberries.
Banana Muffins

Lunches:
Cheese Quesadillas with apple slices
Loaded Baked Potatoes with salad
Leftovers from supper the previous night

Suppers:
M: Fettuccini Broccoli Alfredo with salad
T: Calzone with salad and Monster Cookies for dessert
W: Vegetable Stir Fry with Brown Rice
R: Oven-Fried Fish with Tartar sauce and peas
F: Ham and Potato Soup with homemade bread
S: Leftovers or Frozen Pizza with salad
S: BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with homemade sandwich buns

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

A few pictures from Easter

We had a pretty nice Easter this year. Poor Seth was sick in bed all weekend. On Saturday I took Landon to a park where they were having an Easter egg hunt and lots of other fun stuff going on. We missed the Easter egg hunt, but they were nice enough to give Landon a few eggs anyway :) Landon got to jump in a big jupiter jump, he got a balloon sword (that popped before we got to the car), and candy from a few games he played. It was a lot of fun.

The next day we went over to Mamaw and Papa's house where he had an Easter egg hunt. He was so excited - he is still talking about the "Big Egg" that he got that had a Car's puzzle in it :)





What the baby says

Several weeks ago Landon came to one of my doctor's appointments. At the appointment they listened to the heartbeat. Ever since then, this is what Landon thinks the baby says...

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

20 weeks 4 days

Yesterday marked the point in this pregnancy of how far along I was when we lost our little Samuel. It is bitter sweet to be beyond that point once again. This pregnancy has been so different. I started feeling movement during my 15th week this time with big kicks now and Seth has been able to feel the baby move quite often as well. At this point with Samuel I was just feeling those little fluttery movements. Seth was saying last night that he was never able to feel little Samuel move. I'm not sure if it was because he was our first or because I was so swollen or a combination of both. I can't help but feel a bit of relief and a bit of sadness as I experience what I wasn't able to with our little Samuel.

I had thought the questions of, "Is this your first?" or "Do you have other children?" would be easier this time around, but they are still hard questions to answer and I think they will always be. If I say that I have just one other child, I feel like I'm not validating Samuel's life, but sometimes it's just easier to say that rather than explaining everything. Often I will say I have one in heaven and one here with me. I just have that need as his mother to always include him in our family.

I am looking forward to heaven when we won't have any more pain or sadness.

I was so encouraged by these verses yesterday:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Baby Gift

Landon really wanted to buy something for the baby tonight, so this is what he picked out...

Monday, March 08, 2010

Menu Plan Monday and Pregnancy update

Here's who I get to hang out with for a little bit today :)



M: Chicken Pot Pie
T: Chicken and Cheese Stuffed Jumbo Shells with Salad and Bread
W: Cheesy Ham and Scalloped Potatoes with Salad and Bread
R: Chicken and Noodle Skillet
F: Calzone with Salad
S: Tacos with chips and salsa
S: Chili with Homemade Bread

Everything with my pregnancy has been going well so far. I am now 17 weeks along. My weight gain has been on track and the nausea is pretty much gone. We all had the stomach flu over the weekend which was not fun, but we are all feeling a lot better now! I have started feeling the baby move now, which is so amazing. Every movement is such a treasure. We should be able to find out the sex of the baby on Wednesday. I had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and it was looking like it is probably another little boy, but we will see for sure in a couple days. Thank you for your prayers as this little one grows!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Valentine's Outreach

Today, we had a Valentine's party for neighborhood kids, Sunday school kids, and kids from another outreach we're involved in. We had 13 neighborhood kids, 12 Sunday school kids, 6 kids from the outreach, and 2 other kids that Kimberly brought for a total of 33 kids! I'm pretty sure that it was the most kids that have ever come on the same day. I don't know how all those kids fit in our little house, but somehow it worked and the kids had a blast. I wish I would have taken pictures.

I was amazed at how well they all listened during the lesson about the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). We talked about how the man who was attacked had a big problem as he was lying on the side of the road and how we have a big problem and that is sin. We then talked about how the Samaritan came to this man's rescue and how the Lord Jesus came to our rescue and wants to save us from our sin. Please pray that the Lord would be working in these little hearts and that He would help them understand their need for a Savior.

Also, Friday at the bi-weekly outreach, there was a little 6 year old boy who was really convicted by the lesson. We talked about John 3:16 and how the Lord Jesus died for him and that if he believed that Jesus took his place by dying on the cross then he could be saved from the punishment his sins deserve. He ended up praying to receive the Lord Jesus. It was so encouraging to see such child like faith, taking God at his word and holding on to the truth He offers.

I couldn't help but think of this verse as I rejoiced with this little one:

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Baby #3

As many of you know, we are expecting another baby in August. We are very excited and thankful that the Lord has blessed us with another little one. We are treasuring each day as we realize this baby belongs to the Lord and as with any of our children, we don't know how long we'll have with each one. I have made it through the first trimester now, but am getting a little nervous as I will soon enter that period of time when symptoms arose before the loss of Samuel. I am comforted that the Lord is in control of whatever happens and that He created this precious one with a purpose.

Psalm 139:13,14
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Here is a picture of our sweet little one: