Cheesecake

Sorry I have been Mia! This past weekend we spent in Yakima with some really good friends, we got to relax, drink some wine,make some new friends and catch up with old friends, and we even managed to get a date night in with Ben and Natalie, who's friends watched our kids along with their own! We saw Safe House which was really good!

Natalie also shared this delicious recipe with me that is super easy to make and oh so yummy!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

I iPad is being lame and I can't upload the link, so google it and the first recipe from allrecipes.com is it.

I dare you to try it and not eat the whole thing at once. Very good after its been in fridge too!

Food Allergies:(

So we found out at G's one year checkup that she has food allergies to eggs and peanuts and also cats and dogs. The egg and peanut ones can be serious allergies, but we are hoping she outgrows her, which a lot of kids do. It's a little scary because we have to keep an Epipen around at all times now, incase she does eat something she is not supposed to and has a really bad reaction. I am thankful that she doesnt have wheat or dairy allergies, at least the peanut and eggs are a bit easier to control....except have you ever noticed how many things have eggs in them? a lot! So now I am reading the ingredients on everything I buy....which is a good habit to get into anyways I guess. We also just bought an air purifier, hoping that will decrease the amount of cat and dog dander in the house.

I tried my first egg free recipe this morning and it is very yummy! G loves it too, so that is a double bonus.....I'll post it on here later. They are egg and dairy free blueberry and banana muffins.

You are my sunshine

Hello, yes I know I am adorable:)

Febuary Budget Challenge

We are going to start having a "budget challenge" each month. This month it is to make our own lattes every morning instead of buying any. My hubby gets free drinks when he works, but I usually buy a coffee on the days that I work and we usually get coffee on our days off. We have an espresso machine, so let's save some money! Coffee adds up quick, especially when you get coffee at Starbucks...aka Five Bucks!

Here's to home brewed coffee for a month...hopefully we will just get into the habit of it and it will stick.

Silence

Doesn't this picture just make you want to take a step back and reflect on God's glory in creation? This has been circulating around on facebook and looking at it, this very tiny, piece of the world that we live in puts into perspective how small we are compared to that. Even though you wouldn't be able to see yourself in this picture or the thousands of other people in it, God sees all of us.

As G sleeps right now, I am getting a little bit of my own silence to help me reflect on my relationship with God. I find that the more time I spend in His Word and praying, the better my thoughts and actions. If you are reading this, I'm sure you are thinking "duh", but it isn't always that easy.....it is so easy to get caught up in my own little world of self pity sometimes, that I lose focus of what is really important. I lose sight of the MUCH bigger picture and focus on petty little things, that stir up jealousy and envy in my heart. It causes me to want what I don't have, instead of learning to be content and living under our means, instead of beyond them. I need to spend more time in God's presence to learn how I can impact others, not just myself.......

I've been reading Glimpses of Grace by Madeleine L. Engle, which are daily thoughts and reflections throughout the year. I love this excerpt from Jan 28th....

Caring, One Person At A Time

     We may be a global village, but instant communication often isolates us from each other rather than uniting us. When I am bombarded on the evening news with earthquake,flood,fire,it is too much for me. There is a mechanism, a safety valve, which cuts off our response to overexposure to suffering.
     But when a high-school student comes to me and cries because the two- and three-year-olds on her block are becoming addicted to hard drugs;when the gentle man who cleans the building in which the Cathedral library is located talks to me about his family in Guatamala, rejoicing because they are alive although their house has been destroyed by earthquake; when a goddaughter of mine in Luxembourg write me about the hungry children of the immigrant Portuguese family with whome she is living,then in this particularity my heart burns within me, and I am more able to learn what it is that I can and ought to do, even if this seems, and is, inadequate.
     But neither was Jesus adequate to the situation. He did not feed all the poor, only a few. He did not heal all the lepers, o r give sight to all the blind, or drive out all the unclean spirits. Satan wanted him to do all this, but he didn't.
     That helps me. If I felt that I had to conquer all of the ills of the world I'd likely sit back and do nothing at all. But if my job is to feed one stranger, then the money I give to the world relief will be dug down deeper from my pocket than it would if I felt I had to succeed in feeding the entire world. 




I find that I can relate to what she says there a lot. Sometimes I feel like this world is beyond my repair and what can I do? Is there anything to be done?  First we must get beyond thinking of our own selfishness and sit in silence and be open to what God has in store for us.
 
 

First Birthday!!!

Our sweet baby bird turned ONE!

 There was lots of pink, lots of sweets, lots of fun and lots of family & friends to help us celebrate!

Lots of Pink

Vanilla cupcakes w/chocolate cream cheese frosting

Our sweet Birthday Girl

LOVED the chocolate cream cheese frosting on her cupcake!

YUM!

Sugar Drunk

Let's just say we were all exhausted after the party! It took alot of planning, baking and decorating. The next one will probably be a little more low key...sorry G:)!

My sister also posted some pics from G's first birthday party here , her pictures are alot better than mine! My little camera doesn't take the best of pics....this may be the only thing pushing me towards an iphone....the great pictures they take and convenience of it!

One Year Past in Pictures

1.17.11 Our beautiful 10lb 10oz baby girl was born, she blessed and changed our lives forever.....

Newborn Pictures-about 5 days old

G's first Month

2nd Month

3 months old -Family Pictures we had Taken By Sara Crea

3rd Month-All smiles & Giggles

4th Month

5th month, first taste of solids

6th Month-4th of July Parade

7th Month-Friends Wedding

8th Month-Pumpkin Patch

9th month

10th Month

Almost 12 months Old!

Genesis had her 1 year check up ( a week past, since her actual appointment was canceled due to snow) today. Dr. said her growth is great and that everything is going wonderful! Always good to hear! Her 1 year stats are: 29 5/8th inches (75th percentile) 22lb 6oz (80th percentile) and her head size is still in the 90th percentile, haha, some day she will grow into that large head of hers!

She is walking more than crawling now and has 6 teeth! Quite the little toddler. Wow, I can't believe she is a toddler already. This past year has flown by. I thank God daily for this beautiful little girl that he has given us. She has changed and blessed our lives so much, I have to idea where to begin. Who knew that a 1 year old can teach you so much! Just when you think you are finally an "adult" a baby comes along and teaches you that you really don't know anything and are far away from your "adult" potential.  They also show you how selfish you are, you think that when you get married you learn a little bit about putting someone else first, wait till you have a baby.......there is no longer "my needs" those.......you learn to be completely selfless....but you must remember to treat yourself every now and then or you will go crazy!

Becoming a mom has been an amazing,scarey, unpredictable,fun, rewarding and again scarey experience, but most of all wonderful!