The Flint Fam

Williams-Sanoma: Chicken - Cookbook Review

2012-01-24T11:39:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the end of the month and time for our first cookbook review! For our first review we decided to do the Williams-Sanoma: Chicken cookbook. This has become a staple in our house. In fact, every member of the Flint family has a copy of this cookbook in their house!

Our sample recipe for this month is:
Chicken Breasts with Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchini and Olives

2 Tbs olive oil
2 zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 Tbs chopped shallot
2 C halved red and yellow cherry tomatoes or whole grape tomatoes
1/3 C pitted, coarsly chopped black olives
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves, pounded to an even thickness
1/2 C dry white wine or vermouth
1 1/2 C long grain white rice or Orzo, cooked according to package directions
(This time we did a few things differently to accommodate for what we had on hand. Here is what we switched out: Onion instead of shallot, cubed plum tomato instead of cherry, Chicken tenders instead of breasts and brown rice rather than white. Also, threw in some yellow squash that we needed to use.)

In a large non-stick frying pan, heat 1 Tbs of the oil over med-hi heat. Add the zucchini cubes and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until soft, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, olives and rosemary and cook until heated through but not collapsed, about 2 minutes. Season with S&P and transfer mixture to a plate and set aside.

Add the remaining 1 Tbs oil to the pan. Season the chicken with S&P. Cook, turning once, until browned on both sides and firm when pressed in the centers, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

Add the wine to the pan and bring to a boil. Return the vegetables to the pan and cook for 1 minute to reheat, stirring once or twice. Transfer to a warm platter and top with the chicken breasts. Serve immediately with hot rice or orzo.
Serves 4

This recipe turned out exactly as expected. Besides our small tweaks that were to accommodate for what we had on hand, it turned out exactly as the recipe and picture predicted it would. I would say it was a success!

What we like about this Cookbook:
First of all, it is all about Chicken! What is not good about that? Chicken is, for sure, one of our go-to proteins around here. We also like that all of the recipes are written in a very readable, understandable way. They are easy to follow and have a lot of helpful hints throughout about ingredients and cooking techniques. Personally, I really appreciate that there is a picture to go with every recipe. Yes, I am one of those people ;) Also, most of the recipes are fairly easy to prepare, although there are a few more impressive dishes that take a little extra time, but it really helps to round out the selection of recipes. There is also a chapter at the end called "beyond chicken" that contains 7 recipes for things like turkey and duck. We also really enjoy that there is a helpful section at the back called "Chicken Basics" which, just like it sounds, helps by giving you some more in-depth cooking techniques that are common when cooking with chicken. One of the things we like most about this cookbook is that it uses a lot of common, basic ingredients. So, we usually don't have to spend a lot of money going out and buying last-minute things, because we tend to keep a lot of them around anyways. I have been thinking about it for a while now, and I really can't think of any real negatives to this book. They did a great job putting a little of everything into it and they have packed a ton of information into a small-ish book :)

Other recipes we have tried and liked from this book are: Fajitas, they are unique and by far our fave way to make them now... we also really like the Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Saltimbocca and Chicken Breasts with Chili Rub.

Well, there is our first cookbook review! I hope we covered all the bases... if you have been left with any questions or have any helpful tips for future reviews, please leave us a comment. Thanks for reading :)

Oh, and Kahlan approves too!!

My Mom's Idea

2012-01-18T18:33:00.000-08:00

My Mom is currently packing up her whole house in preparation for their move to Canada next month. While packing up her Christmas things, she had this brilliant idea:

To keep your lights from getting tangled, use an empty wrapping paper roll! I know, my Mom is a genius :)

A Winter Walk

2012-01-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

Today was our third day in a row of snow in the Seattle area. It is pretty funny, I was so glad to move away from the mid-west and the loooong white winters, but when it snows here I get kind of excited. I am not a huge fan of the snow. Especially living in it day in and day out. Shoveling. Bone-chilling wind. Ice everywhere. Anyways, not a fan. BUT, when the rest of your winter is fairly mild, and everything shuts down because of little fluff, a week of snow can be really fun. It is the perfect amount of winter for me :)

This morning, Matt was working from home, Kahlan went down for a nap and I decided to take Annie and myself on a walk in the snow. So, I put on a pair of Matt's big water-proof work boots, my warmest coat, a scarf and my camera and I grabbed Annie and we headed out!

It was nice. It was quiet. Seriously quiet! It was so great!! Everything covered in fluffy white snow, clean and beautiful. A little time alone, just me and the dog. I think it was good for her, too. She loved the snow! She was acting like a puppy again... running around, biting at the snow, it was so cute. When we adopted her she was living in California and I don't know how much snow she saw there... but since we have had her, it has only snowed here in Kirkland one time. Anyways, we both had a blast! Here are a few pics from our adventures:

A Light in the Darkness...

2012-01-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

Before having Kahlan, I never realized the importance of nightlights! Without a little light in the dark night, it is nearly impossible to find my glasses, make my way to the kitchen, make a bottle, change a diaper and rock a sweet baby all while in a state of half sleep. I have been up at night a lot lately with Kahlan since she has been sick for about a MONTH not to mention the endless teething. By the way, she has FOUR teeth now!! During this past month of sleep deprived nights I just realized how much I have under-appreciated the night light in the past. No more, no more. I admit it. I love my nightlight <3

All New! Cookbook Reviews!

2012-01-11T21:42:00.000-08:00

Cooking (and eating) is a passion that Matt and I share. We like to cook separately and together. Although, I would have to say almost every meal we make is a collaborative effort. We started cooking together when we were dating. Matt would come over and we would make a meal for ourselves and my roommates. Through almost seven years of marriage our dinner time routine has become pretty solidified. We talk on the phone mid-day and figure out what we want to have. I take whatever meat we will be using out to defrost. If we are missing any ingredients Matt will stop to pick them up on his way home. When he calls to say he is leaving work I start the prep work. He gets home and we switch off cooking and taking care of Kahlan until our meal is ready. I always chop the onions. He always chops the garlic. He is good at thinking on his feet and making things up as he goes and I love following recipes and switching things up from there.

All this to say, we have decided to start choosing a cookbook every month and trying 3 or 4 recipes out of it, about one new recipe a week. Then we will write up a review about it, here, on our blog! We will be reviewing things like:
Ingredients:
-how lengthy is the ingredient list?
-how easily can you find the ingredients?
Recipes:
-how easy to understand/follow is the recipe?
-how long it takes to cook?
-how complicated is the preparation?
Outcome:
-does it come out like it says it will?
-is it what we were expecting it to be?
-does it taste good?

We are thinking this will be something fun for us to do together and are looking forward to this new little adventure :)

Christmas in Minnesota

2012-01-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Christmas in Mn! I gotta tell you, it was so much fun! Relaxing, hilarious, exhausting, rejuvenating and special are all words to describe out 2 weeks there. Snowy, unfortunately, would NOT describe it! It was so weird to be there in December and not have snow on the ground. It was unseasonably warm and wasn't cold or snowy until out last day there! Figures.

We spent most of our time there just hanging out with friends and family, playing games, watching movies, eating, playing video games, shopping, playing with dogs and babies and generally obsessing over Kahlan and her cuteness ;)

I can't tell you how blessed I felt this Christmas. It was so amazing having Kahlan there celebrating her first Christmas with us!! Everyone else was so excited to spend this time with her too, since they don't get to see her very often, it was great, everyone was so excited to hang out with her that we didn't have to do much ;) It was like having a full time babysitter! We had to fight for her time!! Haha, it was so great to see just how well and completely loved she is!

Here are some Pictures of our time in MN:

If you want to see ALL the pics you can check out these albums on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150498906144939.400016.512029938&type=1&l=26bbdb27e7

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150498995364939.400021.512029938&type=1&l=7157f7fb1e

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150499884064939.400163.512029938&type=1&l=91d84ddf79

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150510180159939.401841.512029938&type=1&l=c645f98862

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150500266174939.400238.512029938&type=1&l=c3f3763ee8

A Flint Christmas Celebration

2012-01-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

This year is our year to spend Christmas in Minnesota, so all of us Flints got together for a celebration a week before Christmas while we were all still around. It was a lot of fun! We had a lot of yummy food, which is never lacking at any family gathering :) It was also Kahlan's first gift opening experience, and she actually did surprisingly well! She helped unwrap her gifts, ate some wrapping paper, played with her gifts... pretty good for a 9 month old!! Here are a few pics from our fun night:

Matt and I were also blessed with fun gifts and the whole evening was just a great time reconnecting with family and Celebrating Christs birth... the reason that we celebrate!

She Gets Cranky Too... :)

2011-12-16T19:37:00.000-08:00

This is Kahlan just chatting it up with our morning talk show :)Sorry about the camera angle... forgot it doesn't work that way!

I know, she is cranky in this one, but she is still cute :) She's just gearing up for nap time ;)

Christmas Projects :)

2011-12-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year!! I am getting really excited to spend this Christmas in Minnesota with family and with SNOW on the ground! I can't wait to show Kahlan the snow and see her reaction :) We don't get much of the white stuff in the Seattle area. Which, the rest of the year I am TOTALLY fine with!! But, the days around Christmas, I find myself longing for a little white fluff on the ground... must be my mid-west upbringing ;)

Anyway, I have been sneaking in some little projects when I have the time. Which, with an almost 9 month old, is hard to come by! My first project was making some Christmas gifts for our life group friends. We love them all and are thankful for them in our lives and wanted to give them a little something. So, we made up a double batch of our favorite salsa. We thought about doing cookies, but I think everyone gets enough cookies this time of year!! So, we thought salsa would be a nice change up. Here is what we did. We saved up all our pasta sauce jars throughout the year and filled them with our Salsa... recipe to follow ;)Then topped them with a piece of scrap cloth, tied to the lid with a ribbon and then put the recipe on a little card and put it on the ribbon. I also made it a little more festive with a cute Christmas tree stamp! It was so fun to put together and a good little joint project for Matt and I (he helped make the salsa!).

Firehouse Salsa
This makes a HUGE (about 1 gallon) batch.

1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
3 cans Rotell original
1 can yellow and white corn
2 cans black beans
1 small red bell pepper, diced
½ cup red onion, diced
½ cup Italian dressing
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl
and enjoy with tortilla chips!

My next little project was gift tags. Honestly, I usually buy gift tags and I even have some leftover from last Christmas, but all of us lifegroup girls were getting together for a craft night, and I wanted to come up with something to work on that was simple and not too time consuming, and I thought of gift tags! I used my Christmas tree stamps, some scrap paper and ribbon and a little jewel to top one of the trees and... Wha-la! Easy peasy craft for me to work on :) Here is the finished product:

Now all our gifts are bought, wrapped, tagged and ready to go under the tree.

That, my friends, is what I have been up to lately. You know, in my "free time" ;) Now for the next week or so all my spare moments will be filled with cleaning and packing and getting ready to fly to Minnesota!!!! Man, I just can't wait to see my whole family again!

The Best Ham

2011-12-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

SO, at the store last week we found a ham roast on an insane deal. We all love ham. We bought the ham. Anyway, we have never made a ham roast before, usually we just get ham steaks because they are so fast and easy but have a lot of flavor. So, being inexperienced ham roasters, Matt took to the internet and ended up finding this recipe for a glaze on Cooks.com. We tried it and tweaked it a bit... mostly by accident ;) Let me tell you, it was the best ham I have ever had!! Ah-mazing! So, I thought I would share it. I will definitely be making it again and if you try it, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Oh, and another plus of a bone-in roast is that now we get to make split pea soup out of the bone!
Here is the recipe and I will note where we made changes:

SUGAR AND HONEY GLAZED HAM
--------------------------

Baked Ham
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup drippings from ham
1 Tbsp. grated orange peel
1 Tbsp. grated grapefruit peel

We did not do this part with the peaches -
1 can peach halves
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. honey

Bake a whole ham according to directions in your recipe.

About 45 minutes before the ham is done, remove pan from
oven. Remove the drippings from the pan. Cut the rind from
the ham, leaving behind the fat. Score the fat diagonally
using a sharp knife, about 1/2-3/4 inch deep.

Stir together brown sugar, honey, ham drippings, grapefruit peel and orange
peel to make a glaze. Pour 1/3 of the glaze over the ham.
Return pan to oven. Bake for another 45 minutes, basting the
ham every 10 minutes with the remaining glaze.

We skipped this part -
Brown the peach halves in a skillet with honey and butter.
Arrange around ham to serve.

Ham can also be decorated with slices of pineapple with
cherries in the center for special occasions.

A New Look Coming Soon!

2011-12-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging as of late. There are many reasons for it... Kahlan being mobile and me spending more time playing with her, house work of course, and... we are working on an updated look for the blog, so we have been working on that and not posting as much. but, more is coming, I promise, so stay tuned!

Another Video of Kahlan:

2011-12-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

This is just a video of Kahlan wandering around. I brought the mirror out for her to play with cause she loves seeing herself :)Well, this is not super exciting, but Mom & Dad, I know you'll love it anyway!

Video Fun!

2011-11-18T13:27:00.000-08:00

Some videos of Kahlan from Today :)Ooops, they are in the wrong order, so watch from the bottom up!

A New Favorite Salad

2011-09-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

So, this has been sitting as a draft forever, due to some technical difficulties... now that that is cleared up, I can start blogging again! So, here ya go.

We have been eating a lot more salads recently. They are budget friendly and waist friendly (depending on ingredients and quantity of course!). I wanted to share with you my new favorite salad. Here are the ingredients:

Spinach leaves
Blue cheese crumbles
walnuts, chopped
dried cherries
Lighthouse raspberry walnut dressing
Layer on plate and enjoy!

What is your favorite new recipe? I'd love to know!

Fun with Food...

2011-08-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

...Baby food that is! Last month Kahlan started eating solid food. She was only four months at the time, but her pediatrician said that because of her serious constipation problems she should start them before the average of 6 months. She also recommended that we home-make her food because the process they use to make baby food in bulk breaks down a lot of the fiber that she needs to help her system and she needs all she can get. Plus, there are many foods that are good for constipation that are not regularly available in store-bought food. So, the adventure began :) We had been planning on store buying her food and starting at 6 months until we met her and learned what her little system is like ;) So, I picked up a couple of cookbooks and found a really great website. Between all these things, the questions I had about solids and the process of making them were answered.

The Baby & Toddler Cookbook and Cooking for Baby:

Wholesomebabyfood.com:

I was a little nervous at first, afraid it would be too time consuming and/or tedious, but it is actually SO easy! I have come to really enjoy making her food and then watching her chow down and enjoy it :) So, I make the food, pour/spoon it into ice cube trays and once they are frozen, dump them into a labeled freezer bag and wa-la! Done! They keep for 3 months in the freezer. then I just take out of the freezer a cube at a time the night before I want to use it and it stays good in the fridge up to 3 days! So far we have tried: Avacado, Blueberries, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Apricots, Mango, Pear & Wheat Bran (which we stir into her food for added fiber). And, so far she has been a rock star eater! She has eaten everything and never refused a certain food. But, she really likes Blueberries, Sweet Potatoes, Apricots & Pears :)

Also, the neat freak in me gets quite a sense of satisfaction out of seeing all the bright colored cubes of food lined up in the freezer!

A Marvelous Monday :)

2011-06-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

This past Monday I spent with my brother-in-law's girlfriend, Jen. Well, most of the day. We started out with coffee... which, how can you go wrong there, am I right?! Anyway, and had conversation over coffee and treats while Kahlan slept away in her car seat (man, I love this stage!). Then we headed to Value Village for some thrifty spending ;) I wanted to find Kahlan some pj's and pants. She is now wearing 0-3 and 3 month clothes and only had 2 pairs of pj's and a few pairs of pants (which don't really match the clothes she has right now). And I had success! We found a cute little pair of jeans, a pair of pink cargo-like pants and a pair of bright blue pants. The only thing that I really wanted and didn't find were brown pants. We also found 2 pairs of long sleeved and 1 pair of short sleeved pj's. Then Jen found a couple super cute dresses and a romper that she got for Kahlan, what a fun gift :) We also perused the book section and I found an almost complete set of Classic Pooh Treasury books! I was so excited!! I like Winnie the Pooh :) The only 2 books missing from the set were "Piglet is completely surrounded by water" and "Tiger is unbounced" so, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for those, but otherwise all the books are there and in great condition! (except for one small spot on the spine of 1 book, but not bad!)

Anyway, Jen also found some good deals on a few books and games, so I would call it a very successful trip to the thrift store! And a great time getting to know Jen a little better :) Thanks for the great afternoon, Jen!!

Then we wrapped up the day with lifegroup at the Potts' place. It was our wrap-up-for-the-summer bbq. There was yummy food, a campfire with s'mores, cornhole and good conversations. Who could ask for more?

What a good day!

Kahlan's Birth Story

2011-06-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

Well, 2 months later, but better than never!! All our guests are now gone and we have finally developed a bit of a schedule and gotten used to life with this little one :) Here is the story of her birth, as promised!

So, on March 29th we went in for our Amnio and they found that Kahlan's lungs were very well developed and the ultrasound showed that she was doing very well. But, it also showed that there was pressure building in the umbilical cord which is one of the first signs of placenta failure. So, she was not yet affected, but, since her lungs were fully matured they wanted to be safe rather than take any chances. So, my parents arrived at this point and came straight from the airport to the hospital.We went straight from getting the amnio to Dr. Stemmerman's office. There she placed the foley in order to start me dilating. Then we went and checked into the family maternity center to begin labor! The men went out and brought us lunch, we oohed and awed over some baby clothes my Mom brought with her and before I knew it the contractions began getting more intense. I asked for an epidural. I was at 5 cm now and wanted to get some rest before the pushing began. I figured I would have plenty of time... but, I layed down and after 10-15 minutes of trying to fall asleep I became increasingly agitated and emotional. The nurse decided to check me and she said I was at 10 cm now and she was calling the Dr!! I said "what?! already? but I need a nap!!". Ends up the Dr. was monitoring me from her office and decided to come check on me just in time! In no time flat they had my bed apart and everything in order and were asking me if I was ready to push. So, the pushing started and just as I felt I was getting into a good rhythm and pushing really well they said ok, just a few more and she'll be here! I was seriously in shock by how quickly everything was happening! After 3 hours and 45 minutes of labor and 10 minutes of pushing, she arrived!!! She came so quickly that she still had a bit of fluid in her, but they sucked that all out, and handed her over for us to hold her for the first time... in our ARMS! What a great feeling :) Best ever. She was premature and a little on the small side, and I had preeclampsia, so we stayed in the hospital a little longer than normal. We actually ended up getting released the day that we were originally scheduled for induction :)

We took our baby girl home and had a wonderful time getting to know her :) My parents were staying with us and helped out so much!! It has been a bit of a whirlwind ever since!! Hopefully now that life has settled down a bit now and we are finding our new normal, I will be able to keep up with the blogging again :) We'll see, I suppose!

She's Here!!!!!

2011-04-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

Kahlan Grace Flint
Born on March 29th at 9:08 pm
5 lbs 12 oz and 19 inches

Birth Story to come :)

36 Weeks

2011-03-22T17:27:00.001-07:00

Here is my 36 week picture. Only one more pregnancy picture to come!! Then baby pictures :)

Overwhelmed

2011-03-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

... That is what I'm feeling today. Overwhelmed by so many different emotions, it is hard to even recognize them all. I am missing Parker a lot lately, with Kahlan due to arrive in a week and a half, and all the memories from my last labor experience flooding back, it is hard at times to imagine actually bringing her home. Because Parker never came home. I am trying to rest in God's promises, His faithfulness... but I have to admit how hard that is at times. Days like today. When my blood pressure is a little high, but absolutely nothing else is wrong... I know she is in there, kicking around, doing well... she just got an NST done today and looked great! But, that blood pressure just naggs at me... it starts me worrying and doubting. Ugh... the Dr. says to take it easy... physically taking it easy is not too hard with the way I'm feeling... SO PREGNANT :)But emotionally and mentally taking it easy, well I'm still working on that one! Looking forward to seeing another ultrasound on Friday and counting the days until I get to hold Kahlan, squirming, crying, and beautiful, in my arms. God, increase my faith, give me a peace that only comes from you. I love you, you are my rock and my strong foundation.

The Plan

2011-03-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

On Friday we had our weekly OB Appt (we also had an NST and AFI done, per usual)and this weeks discussion centered around Kahlan's arrival!! Dr. Stemmerman talked with a Dr. from the Family Maternity Center and figured out what all the new regulations and procedures are involving inductions. She also got the other Dr's opinion on the timing of induction and they recommended 37 weeks. So, Dr. Stemmerman looked at her schedule and we looked at ours and we planned it all out!
On March 29th we will go into the FMC for an Amniocentesis to gauge the maturity of her lungs and if that shows everything is a go, then we will be going in on the 30th, probably in the evening sometime, to have a balloon put in to start me dilating and then the next morning, the 31st, we will go in to be induced!
Parker's induction went pretty darn smoothly and the labor was 12 hours... so, I am hoping and praying that Kahlan's goes as smoothly!! Although, any way the labor goes, I will just be so excited to hold her and take her home... the rest is just whatever needs to go on to make that happen! I'm not picky, just praying for a live, healthy baby!!
Getting excited and nervous now that there is a set date! More of each of those feelings every day it seems!! Well, now I've just got to pack my bag and write up my birth plan :) God be with us and little Kahlan as we start this new journey!

A Grand Celebration

2011-03-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

Wednesday March 16th is my 28th birthday. Wow, time flies when you are doing life! This past Saturday we celebrated my birthday with Matt's family. It was either this weekend or next weekend and all the men are busy at a retreat next weekend, so we celebrated this weekend! We went out to Macaroni Grill where I got my favorite pasta dish, Carmela's Chicken Rigatoni, and it did not disappoint :)I also got sang happy birthday in Italian. Pretty cool! It was fun hanging out with everyone and enjoying good food and good company. After dinner we all went over to Mark and Elaine's for dessert and gift opening. Celeste made an awesome ice cream cake with an Oreo crust and Reeses cups on top. It was SO yummy!
As far as gifts go, I pretty much feel spoiled rotten this year :) Matt, Mark & Elaine and my parents all went in together to buy me a new set of pots and pans!!!! So exciting. Matt took me to the Calphalon Outlet store and I got to pick out what I wanted. It was great, cause we got to pick all the pieces separately from the clearance room so it was less expensive than buying a set and we got the pieces we really wanted and knew we would use. I ended up getting the Tri-Ply stainless steel cookware. Here are pictures of what I got!
The whole set:

Three sizes of pans:

One "Everything" pan with high sides:

One small sauce pan:

One large sauce pan:

And last but not least, a good cleaner to keep them in great condition:

I also got a gift certificate to InSpa from Nate and Jen!!! I was so excited, I was just thinking the other day: "Hmm, I wonder if I'll be able to afford another pedicure before Kahlan is born" and whala!! I'm gonna get a Mani & a Pedi!! Then Dan and Celeste got me a box of Fran's Sea Salt Caramels... my favorite special treat!! (Plus, the cake Celeste made). Boy, it was a good birthday celebration day! The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have my side of the family there too. But, maybe one day :) Thank you Flint family for making it a special day for me! I love you!

Weeks 34 & 35

2011-03-13T12:26:00.001-07:00

34 weeks pregnant:

35 weeks pregnant:

So, we are getting really close now! Our last appointment was last Friday and it included a non-stress test, an amniotic fluid index and a visit with the Dr. Everything with Kahlan is looking really good!! Here are a few pictures we got from the AFI:
Here is a profile shot:

Here is a 3D image of her face:

Here is another of her face where you can see her little hand as a shadow on the right:

I am so excited that our Ultasound Tech decided to try these 3D images! I just love my little girls face and I can't wait to hold her!!!

As far as scheduling our induction date, we will be doing that next Friday. Due to the Dr's schedule, we MAY be having her in 3 weeks! We'll have to see. She wanted to talk with the family maternity center about some recent changes in policy regarding inductions and amnios, so she is going to let us know what she found out and then we'll make a plan! If we go later than April 2nd we probably won't be able to have her deliver because she will be out of town, so we are praying that we can go for sometime between the 1st and 3rd of April or that something works out in her schedule between the 4th and the 8th.

So, we'll update you all again next Friday :)

Life is crazy, just roll with it!

2011-03-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

Not many specifics to share with you, but it has been a little while since we last posted, so thought I'd share with you what has been going on.

Last weekend we spent up at Mt Baker with the high school group, same as we do every year! It was good. I think it may have been a little ambitious of me at 33 weeks pregnant, I overdid it a bit, but it was fun hanging out with my girls! We had some good conversations, and good laughs and played games! I myself, did not really step outside the building all weekend!! But, Matt had fun playing in the snow :) He went sledding and played some snow football and helped judge the "sledding olympics" :) They guys who won went sledding in the freezing cold, while it was snowing, with no shirts on! Teenage boys are CRAZY! Anyway, I was unexpectedly affected by the altitude! I've never had a problem up there before, but I've never been up there past my first trimester, either! So, I was having a little trouble breathing, didn't sleep well and was quite annoyed by the 4 flights of stairs I had to go up and down to get to and from the girls floor, but other than that... the weekend was great!! I usually have a pic of the mountain to share, but it was so snowy the whole time that we couldn't even see it! But, here is a pic of me with my girls!

Other than that, I have been spending a lot of time cleaning... that and laundry are NEVER done ;) Just trying to get the house all ready for Kahlan's arrival! That and 2 dr appointments a week keep me pretty busy. Plus, it is birthday season for us, so we've been doing a lot of celebrating! First it was Mark, tonight it is Nate, in another week it is me, then Matt and Kahlan... then my Dad then my Mom and Elaine... oh boy, you get the drift!

Tomorrow is my baby shower!! So, I'm pretty excited for that! I can't wait to celebrate my little girl with friends and family!! Plus, after that, we'll know what we've got and what we still need and we can go shopping and get her room ready! YAY!

Well, that is it for now :)Just life happening little by little!

Weeks 31 & 32

2011-02-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

So, I am playing a little bit of catch-up with the pictures! Here are the photos... more info to come after our appointment this Thursday :)

31 Weeks

32 Weeks

So, I went and did something crazy!

2011-02-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

A Post by Matt...

I decided to join Team World Vision to raise money for water projects in Africa. What am I doing to raise money you ask? I am running a half marathon in the Seattle Rock'n'Roll Marathon. I have always hated running, but nonetheless here I am training for a half marathon (Paul of Tarsus would be proud). So far the training has been brutal. Every time I finish a run I feel like I'm going to die. Hopefully with this training I won't feel like that anymore. My motivation stems from my relationship with Christ and a passage of scripture that I hold dear.

James 2:14-17: What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

The main point of this passage is to define the relationship between faith and works, however there is something else going on in the passage. The example that James gives hits me to my core. As believers we are not called just to say good and encouraging things, but we are called to action. We are compelled by our faith to provide not just hope, but needs as well. That is the reason I am running.

If you wish to support me in this effort visit my donation website.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" - Paul of Tarsus

It's Official...

2011-02-08T20:54:00.000-08:00

... I SUCK at baking!!! I don't know why or what happens. I am a good cook, but I can't bake to save my life. If you have been reading this blog for long, you have read several other flops in my baking adventures. Tonight I undertook the task of making Danish Puff Pastries.

They are a favorite breakfast/brunch item of mine. My Mom has made them all my life for special occasions... holidays, new neighbors, company for brunch, ect. They hold such great memories for me! They are light and puffy with yummy frosting, and a delicious, delicate almond flavor. I love them!

My woman's bible study is having a brunch potluck tomorrow morning. So, I called my Mom and got the recipe... So excited to make them and share them with my new friends.

Then tonight, I started making them. Half way through I realized I screwed up. So, frustrated, I started over. I was gonna do this right. So, I followed the directions and made the puffs. The timmer beeped to indicate they were done cooking and I went to retrieve them and noticed... they were not puffy!!! What the crap.

I do everything by the recipe, sure to be extra careful because I know I'm not a good baker and it still goes wrong. So disappointing

Well, I can make a good pie crust, a couple of cookie recipes, boxed mixes, pancakes and french toast... I guess that is just going to have to do it for me and my baking repertoire.

Well, here is the recipe for any of you who are not baking-challenged :) It really is excellent! I just can't do them justice.

Danish Puff Pastry:

½ c. butter softened
1 c. flour
2 tbsp. water
½ c. butter
1 c. water
1 tsp. almond extract
1 c. flour
3 eggs

FROSTING
¾ bag powdered sugar
½ c. butter softened
1 tsp almond extract
Enough milk to make spreadable

½ cup slivered almonds/toasted

In a bowl cut ½ cup butter into 1 cup flour. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons water and fix with fork. Divide into 2 balls. Roll out to a 12 x 3 inch strip and place on ungreased cookie sheet (both strips will fit on 1 cookie sheet).

Mix ½ cup of butter and 1 cup of water and bring to a rolling boil. Add almond extract and remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup flour immediately to help from lumping. Mix well and when it's smooth and thick, add eggs one at a time, beating again until smooth.

Divide in half and pour - spread the mixture evenly over the two strips.

Bake until topping is crisp and brown at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until browned and no moisture beads.

For frosting, blend powdered sugar, butter and almond extract with mixer until smooth (should be thick)

Frost cooled puffs and sprinkle with almond slivers

29 Weeks

2011-02-04T15:03:00.001-08:00

Once again I am a little late getting this post up here, but what can I say? I've been very forgetful! This picture was taken last Sunday at 29 weeks. In 2 days, on Sunday, I will be 30 weeks!

Last week I did have my glucose test that I have been so nervous about! It was not a walk in the park, but I made it through ;) I drank the drink, by the way, the orange kind is worse than the lemon-lime I had last time... I'll need to remember that next time! I got my blood drawn... after 3 nurses and 3 pokes, and 1 killer bruise, someone finally got it and with less than a minute to spare!! I was so thankful not to have to take the test over again. And I am happy to say I am diabetes free and my Iron levels are good!

Other than that, Kahlan is now the approximate size of a: butternut squash!

About 16 inches long and just over 3 pounds.

It is funny, she has developed a sort of pattern. She is super active for a day and then for a day or 2 she is less active and more sleepy... I much prefer the active days, they set my mind at ease, but I am also glad that so far she appears to be a good sleeper. Although, once out of the womb, things could be different... who knows!

My next appointment is this coming Tuesday. Then, 2 weeks later we have a 32 week ultrasound, a non-stress test and another appointment. Then in March I will start going into the Dr twice a week. Once for an NST, and another time for an NST, an AFI (amnictic fluid index) and an appointment. I am looking forward to so much supervision and knowing that IF something starts to go wrong, we will have a heads up and plenty of time to take action. SO, that is where we are right now and what is coming up for us in the next month and a half. Little Kahlan should be here in about 2 months, and I am beyond anxious and excited!! We'd love it if you all would continue to pray with us for Kahlan's health and safe delivery and for our peace of mind, knowing that God is in control. Thanks so much for following our journey... more updates to come ;)

A Sister, A Friend :)

2011-01-30T11:52:00.000-08:00

The first 3 weeks of January were amazing! My sister, Hillary, came to visit us for most of her January term. She flew home to MN, right before Christmas, from studying abroad in Kenya and then flew over here first thing in January! I was SO excited!! We hadn't been able to see her in so long, since she was in Africa when we were in MN for Thanksgiving. I hate living so far away from my family, but it makes it SO special when any of them get to come visit us!! I love sharing my home and my life with them :)

Hilly and I had many fun adventures while she was here! She spent the first week she was here helping me get things around the house ready for Kahlan's arrival. What a blessing! I was starting to freak out a little... I needed to nest, but couldn't do the lifting and stuff necessary to do half the projects I had in mind! So, she helped me clear out our second bedroom... only baby related items remain now. That entailed emptying the dresser of all of my craft stuff, the closet of all it's seasonal storage (ie: Christmas decorations, camping gear, ect..) and bringing all of the baby stuff we already have over from Mark and Elaine's house. So, we put all the craft stuff into decorative boxes we found at Michael's and into a new bookshelf in our bedroom. We also moved the desk into our room and reorganized it a little so everything would fit! Here is a picture of our new set up in the bedroom:

We also made a trip to Value Village to get rid of a bunch of things that were not needed and just taking up space. I love that feeling of purging the old clutter and having a neat clean space! We also filled up the dresser and closet with all the fun hand-me-downs Kahlan has received as well as the things we got for Parker that she will be able to use. That was fun for me :)So, thank you, Hillary for all your hard work!!!

After that week of getting things done, we spent 2 weeks just exploring, playing games, watching shows, going to the tea house with Heather and her Aunt, going to Pike Place, shopping, playing with and loving on the pets, shopping, driving Matt to and from work, playing in the short-lived snow, taking pictures, painting nails, doing dishes, making dinners, hanging out with the Flint's, going to coffee and just having fun being together. We played a game of Bohnanza almost everyday... sometimes more, which I loved! We also spent a whole Saturday on Whidbey Island with Matt and Annie :) I must say the best part was just getting to spend time with my sister. What an awesome woman she is. She is always positive and encouraging and makes me laugh and I am just so grateful to have her in my life :)

I'll post some pictures of our adventures below, but if you want to see ALL of them, just follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=284850&id=512029938&l=4e800f69ec

27 Weeks

2011-01-20T15:06:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken at 27 weeks :) That was last Sunday, but I have been so busy having fun with my sister in town, that I haven't had time to blog! The adventures of her 3 week stay with us will probably get posted next week sometime. So, now that I am almost 28 weeks, I better post this.

This week, baby Kahlan weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, her brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now.

This past week, we went in to the family maternity center to get checked out. There was a slight concern that amniotic fluid may have been leaking, but it turns out all is well! It was kind of nice to get a non-stress test and know that she is doing really well :) Our next appointment is this coming week on the 27th. I'll also be doing my glucose test at that time. So, hoping all goes well! More updates to come!!

25 Weeks

2011-01-04T13:03:00.001-08:00

This picture was actually taken between 24 and 25 weeks. About 24 weeks and 5 days, precisely :)

Kahlan is now the approxamate size of an eggplant! Weighing in at 2 pounds!

Her eyes are opening this week and brain wave activity is kicking into high gear. Meaning she'll be more responsive to noises from outside as well as bright light and she is beginning to sleep more and develop a sort of sleep cycle. Though that is not very distinct until 28 weeks. I kinda love that her space is growing smaller, cause that means I can feel her more... and so can others! I love those little kicks and punches, letting me know she's there and doing well :)

Our last OB appointment went really well! I am now back up to my pre-pregnancy weight. Meaning I have recovered all the weight I lost in the beginning. We also got another ultrasound! It was just a short one to get some images captured on DVD, because it didn't work at our 20 week. But, that was fine by us! An extra peek at our girl? For free? Yes, please!! It was very cool. She was so active and about half the time had her feet up by her head, stretching and then she'd rest her head on her knees. So cute! We also got a pretty good look at her sweet face :) I'll try to have Matt put the video up here in case anyone reading this hasn't seen it on Facebook :)

Coming up this month is the dreaded glucose test :( I really hate it. But, I'm hoping to just get it done and over with quickly. Please join us in praying for good results, meaning no gestational diabetes! Also in a couple months, at 32 weeks, we'll be getting another Ultrasound to check her growth, fluid levels, the placenta, ect. I think we'll be scheduling our induction around that time. At that point I'll also be going in twice a week. Once for an appointment with the Dr. and once for an NST (non-stress test) to check Kahlan's heartbeat, activity and amniotic fluid levels.

About 3 more months to go!!! So looking forward to holding my baby girl! We would love your prayer support for her continued health and development and our nerves/state of mind as her due date grows closer :) We covet your prayers and support!!

Six Years - A Trip to Remember

2010-12-31T22:41:00.000-08:00

These past couple of days, Matt and I have spent taking time out to go on a short trip for our 6 year anniversary. We went to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We stayed at the wonderful Friday Harbor House and spent the days exploring the gorgeous Island and all of it's food offerings :) We went with no real plans except to do whatever we wanted and to have a nice dinner out. Our room had gorgeous views of Friday Harbor and we heard of some other places that also offered great views of scenic vistas :) So, 2 of the main places we decided to check out were South Beach and Lime Kiln State Park. So, we went to those places and stopped at every scenic outlook and random gorgeous place along the way!

Here is a view from South Beach

Here is a view from Robert's Redoubt

Here is a Lighthouse at Lime Kiln State Park

Along with exceptional views, the Island also offers many different kinds of yummy cuisine to choose from! We had lunch at the Blue Water Bar and Grill. They have really good burgers and sandwiches and amazing french fries to go with! We also lunched at Cousin Vinnie's Authentic New York Cafe, which offers 32 varieties of pizza, which was also very good. For our nice anniversary dinner we decided to go to Vinny's, which is a nice Italian restaurant near where we stayed. It was not a disappointment! The Chicken Parmigiana that I had was VERY good. The light crunch breading on the chicken was perfect and I loved the clean spaghetti and veggies it was served with. Even the Lemonade was great :) Matt also enjoyed his Flat-Iron Steak with veggies and fingerling potatoes.

Here are some pictures of us on our night out

Overall, the trip was better than we even expected! It was totally relaxing and energizing. We loved having no schedule or obligations and being able to just roam around and explore. I also love anyplace that has an abundance of choices of local coffee shops and espresso stands ;) It was a great way to celebrate! I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband and the past six years we've had together. We have had a lot of up and downs in that time, but through it all he has been by my side the whole time, always there for me and always supportive. I love you, honey!! Here's to growing gray together <3

If you want to see all of the pictures from our trip, just follow this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=280118&id=512029938&l=9f93c6353d

Thanksgiving in Minnesota

2010-12-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

Alright, I wanted to get this post about our Thanksgiving up before Christmas is here!! I keep meaning to and forgetting... pregnancy brain. Yep, I'm going with that ;)

This Thanksgiving we flew to Minnesota to spend 10 days with my side of the family. Ah, I love being with my family! It is so natural! Everyone but Hillary was there. She is in Kenya studying abroad and doesn't get home for a couple weeks yet. It was rather weird being there and not seeing her. I think this was the first time that has happened! We missed her a lot, but we had a wonderful time with everyone else! Here is everyone at Seth and Laura's place on Thanksgiving Eve:

In the back on the left is my brother Sammy with Mikko in his lap :) Next to him is my husband, Matt and then my brother Seth and his wife, Laura. Seth is holding Finnegan. Then me at the end. Down in front are Dad and Mom :)

Some other people who were around a lot? Our friends Lars and Erica Nelson and their little girl Annika! We hadn't seen Annika since she was a month old and now she is so big and SO cute at 7 months! Here we are with the Nelsons :)

My Aunt Candi and Lori were over a lot too! It was so nice seeing them! They used to live here in Tacoma and a few years ago they moved out to MN for work and now they are close to Mom and Dad's! Here is a picture of everyone at Thanksgiving dinner, Candi and Lori are on the left:

Later in the evening, after our amazing Thanksgiving dinner we all got to skype with Hillary!! Here she is!

It was so great seeing her, even if it was on a computer screen! I can't be too sad, though, about her not being there, because she is coming to visit us for 3 weeks in January!! So, looking forward to that time with her.

You know one thing that always makes me laugh when I see my friend Erica? We inevitably end up matching at least once or twice without trying at all. It could have something to do with the fact that we love the same colors, but I just get a kick out of it! We always end up looking like we coordinated our outfits to match like we were in grade school :) Here we are with Annika on one such day:

Anyways, while we were in Minnesota, we basically did a lot of hanging out. We watched movies, played games, went shopping, sat around the living room chatting.... just lots of time spent together with family and close friends. Also a lot of eating :) I love being pregnant during the holidays!! I don't feel bad about indulging at all!

Another thing I loved while we were there was seeing little Annika. Especially seeing my family and my husband with her. My Dad kept saying how fun it was to play with her and could you even imagine what it will be like with "ours"?! And Matt playing with her just warmed my heart... he is going to be such a great Daddy. Annika herself is just the happiest and content and social little child!

Let me wrap this up with a few more pictures from our time there:

We're Having a Girl!!!

2010-12-06T10:04:00.000-08:00

Last week we had our 20 week ultrasound. I get so nervous every time I go to the Dr. Nervous I won't hear what I'm longing to, that I'll get bad news... Deep down I believe everything will be ok, but I get the jitters a little bit until I am actually there and I actually hear that little heart beating. That is a powerful sound, that little swoosh, swoosh :) Definitely the most reassuring and calming sound I hear these days! My nervousness and excitement tends to be compounded when getting an ultrasound. I think because that is how we found out about Parker and hearing that news again is my deepest fear. But, I try to push the nerves aside and find the excitement and joy... which are both there full force! God is good. I know that. I am trusting Him.

The ultrasound was great! Almost first thing the tech said, welll, do you want to know the gender? 'Cause it's right here! We said yes and she told us we were having a girl!!! Which I didn't need much help recognizing... the picture was definitely lacking what I saw at Parker's ultrasound ;) So, Matt gets his daddy's girl! We were so excited! Mostly because our baby was wiggling around and healthy as can be :) I was also a little proud that I have been right both times now in my feelings of what we were having :) Oh, and when I say active, I mean this little girl wouldn't stop moving! The tech was having a hard time getting clear pictures because she was moving so much! She saw everything though and all looks well in order. She also reassured me that my placenta and umbilical cord look good. The one thing we had trouble seeing was her profile. She was turned the wrong way so I had to get up, drink some water, dance around, jiggle my belly and hit the restroom, all in an effort to keep her moving and try to get her to flip over :) Which she did eventually! So, anyway, everything looks great! Wohoo! We've got a healthy, strong, active little girl on the way! The tech warned me that in short order I'll probably be feeling like nothing more than a punching bag ;) But, I'm good with that. Bring it on, little one!

If you haven't heard yet, the name we've picked for her is Kahlan Grace. Kahlan is pronounced like Kay-lynn but with a little more of an "a" sound than a "y" sound at the end, if that makes any sense. We compromised on the name Kahlan. Matt really liked the name Kaylee, but it just didn't sound right to me. The more I said it the less I like it, which isn't great. So, we came up with Kahlan, which is similar, but different :) The more I say it, the more I like it, so that was a good sign in my book! So we were both agreed and then we had to tackle the spelling. I had no idea there were so many different spellings of the name out there! We went through all of them and couldn't settle on one that was perfect. Then I started reading a book series that I enjoyed and one of the main character's names was Kahlan and I loved the unique spelling. The book series was also made into a TV series called "Legend of the Seeker" which Matt and i watched. Anyways, the books are where we came up with the spelling, and we're really happy with it :) We struggled with the middle name for a little while. We liked the name Renee, which is a family middle name, which was kinda the theme we've been going with so far, but then we tried Grace, and it just sounded so right! We weren't sure at first, but once again, the more we thought about it and tested it out, the more we liked it. Mostly, we loved the meaning of the word grace.

Grace: defined by Dictionary.com
1. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of god.
2. elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
3. a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.
4. favor or good will.
5. mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace.
6. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
7. Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.
8. moral strength: the grace to perform a duty.

So, Kahlan Grace Flint it is!!!

Anyways, after our ultrasound, we had an appointment with my ob, Dr. Stemmerman. She was very positive and said everything is looking great. She did mention that I am not gaining weight, that I am still 4 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant, but she said that there is no need to be concerned at this point. She just wanted to make sure that I'm eating enough and taking my vitamins. Matt quickly assured her that I am out-eating him, and am definitely not lacking in nourishment! She said that at this point my goal should be to gain 10-20 lbs total weight gain. So, I still have time ;) Also, that the baby will start growing fast now and putting on fat, so weight gain should start soon. That was the only thing she brought up though. She said everything else is perfect. We did go over a bit of the plan for later on. At 30-32 weeks I'll be having another ultrasound to make sure everything is still fine with the baby and to check on my placenta. Around that time I will also start going in for regular non-stress tests to monitor the baby's heart rate and movements. They will also be keeping a close eye on the levels of amniotic fluid and my placenta, which will be done by ultrasound, I'm just not sure how often that will be happening yet. Then, if everything is looking good and there are no problems, she will do an amnio, I think at 37 or 38 weeks to make sure Kahlan's lungs are fully developed and then I'll be induced 2 weeks early. If there are any complications or my blood pressure is high at any point, they will do everything they can to mature her lungs and they'll deliver right away. So, we feel good having a plan of action and knowing what to expect in the coming months.

As always, we would greatly appreciate your prayers for Kahlan's continued growth and health as well as my health, specifically a regular blood pressure and healthy placenta. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! We love you!! Oh, and before i forget, here are some of the pictures we got from our Ultrasound :)

Foot

Hand

Profile

19 Weeks

2010-11-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

17 Weeks

2010-11-10T22:27:00.000-08:00

So, I am 17 weeks and 3 days pregnant :) A lot of growth is going on right now! My uterus is now the size of a... cantaloupe!

And the baby is now the size of a sweet potato. Isn't that sweet?!

Between 16 weeks and 20 weeks the baby doubles in size. Right now we are in the midst of all that growing and I am starting to feel it, that is for sure! Those pesky ligament pains are coming on strong... sometimes as painful as contractions. Which I wasn't expecting! So, it gave me a little scare at first, but I called and talked with my nurse and she assured me that it is normal and that the pain is more in subsequent pregnancies than in the first. I went in to get my flu shot just yesterday and had the nurse check the baby's heartbeat just to put my mind at ease, and everything sounds good in there :) So, baby and I are doing well and looking forward to Matt getting home from his work trip to Texas!! Then we travel to MN for Thanksgiving and when we get back we have our 20 week ultrasound where we will find out if we are expecting little Kahlan Grace(pr. Kay-lynn) or little Carter David!!!!! I'm SUPER excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

Passing Time...

2010-10-28T19:27:00.001-07:00

These are a few of the ways I've been passing the time while Matt has been away on his business trip!

One day my friend Ashley came by to pick me up for some hang out time at Country Village :) We had a lot of fun. We got some coffee at "The Village Bean" and walked around a bunch of the shops. Our favorite one was up towards the front. I forget the name of the place, but it was super cute and had a whole lot of knick-knacks and holiday decor. In the back there was a little room full of Christmas stuff! I ended up finding a really cute metal sign that I thought would be perfect to hang on the door this holiday season. I brought it home and put some ribbon on it and it is all ready to go up! Here is a picture of it:

Another day my friend Hannah and I went out to run a few errands. We had three of her kids with us, and boy are they cute!! It was a fun day. We hit up Bed Bath & Beyond and Target and then we headed to McDonalds for some lunch and let the kiddos run around in the play area for a bit. I ended up getting some fun Christmas towels and some yummy smelling cinnamon scented pine cones, which I put in a big vase and dolled up with some ribbon for a wintry centerpiece. Here's a pic of that:

Then, last Friday I got together with my Student Life Group girls and my co-leader, Shareen. We ate pizza and brownies while watching the end of "Hook" and then headed out to the garage to carve pumpkins. It was great fun and I ended up carving a silly pumpkin face on a little white pumpkin I got from Trader Joe's :)

Today I headed over to Northshore Baptist Church for their annual Harvest Carnival. I met up with Heather and Samantha Landis and Hether's in-laws. It was so fun to watch Samantha in her little Snow White costume, running around looking for the next adventure! She is such a cutie :)It was great seeing all the kids in their costumes and to chat with some people who I don't get to see very often.

Tomorrow brings church and then on Monday my Grandparents are coming to town!! I'm so excited to see them again :)

15 Weeks

2010-10-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

As of today I am 15 weeks and 4 days pregnant :) This week baby's ears are in place and because of that, he/she can hear me when I speak. As of now, shmit is approximately the size of an avacado!

Big news of the week: I felt the baby kick for the first time last weekend!! So cool :) I have felt movement a few other times too, but at this point, mostly only when I am all scrunched up or when my bladder is full :) In weeks to come I'll be able to feel the baby more and more frequently. I am so excited for that stage! Here is my picture for this week and I think that is all the news for now... stay tuned ;)

Just a Thought?

2010-10-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

Phillipians 4:4-9
"Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

I have been contemplating these verses a lot lately. I have always liked this passage of scripture, but it has come to mean a great deal more to me since the loss of my baby, Parker, last year. I find myself relying on these words to help myself stay out of the grasp of depression, doubt and anxiety. They really are powerful words, quite the prescription! When I start feeling anxious, depressed or doubtful I come back to these words. I start thinking about what I am thinking about and how it is affecting me. Usually, when I feel that way and I come back to these words, I compare what is going though my head against what these verses say to think about and almost always whatever is going through my head does not meet any of that criteria, much less all of it! Is what I'm thinking true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy? No. So, I need to change the way I am thinking. Not only should what we think meet one or two of these standards, but all of them! If not, then we should run from those thoughts! Push them out of our minds and cling to the things that this passage speaks of. It is not an easy concept to grasp thoroughly, though it is quite straight forward. I think it is all too easy to let thoughts run rampant through our heads with no real awareness or control of them. Clearly that is not the way God wants us to think. He wants us to take control of our thought life just as with every other part of our lives. Have you thought about what you think about? I would challenge you to do so... does it meet God's standards of what you should be allowing into your mind? Truly, God must have our best in mind when giving us such straight forward advice.

Well, I don't know how eloquent or even understandable all of that was, but it has been on my mind and heart a lot lately, so I thought I would share :)

14 Weeks

2010-10-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

I am currently in my 14th week of pregnancy :) This coming Sunday is the official beginning of my second trimester! Whohoo! With it, it bring relief... from the threat of miscarriage, as it is much rarer from this point on, as well as, hopefully, from some of the nausea and sickness of the first trimester. That is all good news to me!

This week my uterus is starting to head upwards, out of the confines of the pelvic bones so that it can accommodate all the growth that is yet to come. I have already been experiencing a side effect of this movement in the form of round ligament pain. Basically, growing pains that can be achy or sharp feelings on one or both sides of my abdomen. Usually when I make big side to side or up and down movements. Though not always comfy, I definitely prefer this to the sickness!

As for baby, they say that he or she, shmidt, as we're calling it ;) is growing leaps and bounds this week and is almost constantly moving! I won't be able to feel these movements for at least another few weeks, but apparently it is pretty busy in there :) This is also the week when the baby's hair is growing in! On top of their head, eyebrows and also that soft fuzzy hair all over the body that serves as a sort of protection in the amniotic fluid until just before birth.

So, a lot going on this week with the both of us! Here is my 13 week picture that was taken earlier this week:

How Embarassing...

2010-10-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

I have been a bit extra emotional lately. Probably something to do with all those ramped up hormones running through me :)So, keep that in mind, here!

Tonight we had a bit of a dinner disaster... as in, we made it and then I found I couldn't eat it without almost throwing up in my mouth... it did not agree with me! Another pregnancy symptom that has been stronger this time around. Anyway, we were running VERY short on time, trying to get to High school small groups at church. So, we decided to grab fast food on the way.

Here comes my most cliche pregnancy moment thus far...

We ended up at Taco Time, where I ordered my favorite meal. Then, when they gave it to me, I realized I had been given a small mexi-fry instead of a large... and then I started to... CRY! Yes, that's right, it was quite upsetting :)

After I realized that I was crying.... over mexi-fries, I then proceeded to laugh at the absurdity of it!!

I have to tell you though, my sweet husband gave me his med fries and took my small :) What a guy!

So, hopefully my little embarrassment could give you a little laugh ;)

Mmm... Soup

2010-10-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend we were having some friends over and I wanted to make soup. That started me in search of a recipe. I wanted something yummy and full of healthy veggies and I didn't want to have to go to the store. So, I looked around and I ended up using a recipe I already had saved to my computer. I had used it once before and really enjoyed it and then I forgot about it. Now I am so glad to have rediscovered it, because it is SO YUMMY! Our friends really liked it as well and all wanted to go home with the recipe... that's when you know it was good! So, since it is fall and the perfect time for soup consumption, I thought I would share this recipe with the whole class ;) Now, I really didn't want to go shopping, so I used a few substitutions, so I will note those.

Ribollita
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling on bread
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 ounces pancetta, chopped (I used 4 slices of bacon)
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 pound frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (I forgot to thaw, so I just stuck it in frozen)
1 (15-ounce) can cannelloni beans, drained (I used white beans)
1 tablespoon herbs de Provence
3 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 (3-inch) piece Parmesan rind
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, pancetta, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until the onion is golden brown and the pancetta is crisp, about 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved. Add tomatoes and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits. Add the spinach, beans, herbs, stock, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!!

11 1/2 Week Picture

2010-09-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the first belly picture :) Now you can see that indeed, I am much bigger than I was at this point with Parker!

A Visit from My Parents

2010-09-23T15:52:00.001-07:00

This post has been in the works forever... just waiting to be written as I do a million other things, ignore it, forget about it, try to come up with words to describe how wonderful it was to have my parents in town for a whole week, all to myself! But, I can't. Words can't describe the joy it brought me or the sadness I felt when they had to go. So, I thought I would just share some pictures of our week together :) After all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. I love you, Mom and Dad!

Week 10

2010-09-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

This post is a little late in coming, but I didn't want to spend valuable time with family in town, blogging. So, better late than never, I always say ;)

This has been my 10th week of pregnancy and at 10 weeks and 1 day we had our first Dr's appointment and an ultrasound!! Here are the first pictures of baby Flint #2!

The appointment went really well. The baby has a strong heartbeat... between 160 and 170 I believe is what she said. And the little one was wiggling around A LOT! I got all my questions answered, my mind and heart were put at ease by the sight of my little one :) Also, both Matt's and my parents got to be in the room for the ultrasound and I think that was good for them as well.

As for baby, shmidt, is about the size of a prune this week!

This week a lot is happening in there, the most significant of which, is the bones and cartilage that are forming as well as teeth forming under the gums and the kidney are working even harder!

As for me, my nausea has eased up a little bit, which is a blessing. Also, I am definitely showing! I had heard that you show more quickly in your second pregnancy, so I thought i was prepared, but man! They were serious! Now, I showed pretty quickly even with my first because of how short my torso is and now with my second, I feel like I popped out RIGHT AWAY! Within a month I was already getting bigger and now half way through my 3rd month, I am back in pregnancy pants! Although, I am proud to say that I have not gained ANY weight yet! So, that is reassuring at least :) Anywho, that is all for now, more updates to come in a few weeks... along with the first belly pic!

A Weekend in Spokane :)

2010-09-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we ventured over to Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. Our main reason for this trip was to meet my newest 2nd cousin, Emery Michael Nelson, born Sunday the 5th of September 2010. Oh man is she a cutie!!

We arrived late Friday night in Spokane and went straight to the hospital to visit my Grandpa Foedisch. He was in for a bowl obstruction. That is all still in progress, they are waiting it out hoping not to have to surgically remove it. Anyway, we got to see him, Aunt Laurie and Aunt Karla there. Then we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Rima's house where we were staying.

The next day we spent in Coeur d'Alene with Uncle Mike, Aunt Rox, Courtney, Jacob, Grandma, Grandpa and of course little Emery! We also saw Andrew and Alec at lunch! We had a lot of fun catching up and hanging out. We also played a quick game of phase 10 with Jake and Courtney. Then we spent the evening with Matt's cousin, Melissa, and her boyfriend, Steve. They came over to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner and a rousing game of phase 10 :) We also got to spend a little time with my cousin, Kristina, and her husband, Jake. They stopped by for a bit after dinner to say hi :)

The next day we went to Lake City Church, where Uncle Mike pastors, with everyone then headed over to Mike and Rox's house with everyone for lunch and a little more Emery time before we had to hit the road for home. It was a good weekend and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

My Favorite Time!!

2010-09-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

Ahh... fall! My favorite time of year!! It is like a breath of fresh air after a warm and busy summer. Life starts to slow down a bit, the weather turns crisp and invigorating, the leaves turn, time to break out the blankets and candles and apple cider! Plus there is all the fun of fall decorations, a trip to the pumpkin patch, time spent playing games around the table with friends and family, wearing sweaters and socks again... I just LOVE it! Well, I just had to share my excitement with you :)

Week Eight Update

I also wanted to share what is going on this, week 8, of my pregnancy. This week the baby is the size of a large raspberry:

And my uterus is now the size of a grapefruit:

The baby's lips, nose, eyelids, legs and back are continuing o take shape this week. Also this week, Shmidt (her/him/it), is beginning to make spontaneous movements :)

As for me, I am sill feeling very tired and sick (though, thankfully, nothing has actually come of the sickness yet), so far this is pretty much like my pregnancy with Parker... although, I keep wondering if I was actually this sick last time! Matt and I are both thinking it is worse this time around. Haha, I am looking forward to the second trimester when I might find some relief :)

One thing that is different is the rate at which I'm "showing". Although, it is not necessarily the baby that is showing! I guess in subsequent pregnancies this tends to happen due to the fact that all those muscles and everything have already been stretched out. Plus, I think it is a bit exaggerated in me because I was pregnant such a short time ago and because of my short torso. Well, all of that and the swelling and such that goes along with the first trimester ;)

Well, that is all the update I've got for now!!

A Seaside Vacation

2010-09-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

Well, it has taken me longer than I wanted to get around to this post, but, "better late than never" I always say!

The last weekend in August the Flints headed to the Washington coast and the lovely community of Seabrook, near Ocean Shores. We rented a house there for the weekend. The house was beautiful, the food was delicious (we all took turns cooking :), the views were breathtaking, the weather was hit and miss, the family time was memorable and everything about the weekend was enjoyable! It was an amazing weekend.

There is something about the ocean that invigorates my soul. Looking across that great expanse of water and knowing that the one who created it also created and loves me AND is knitting another life together in my womb as I stand there looking at His creation. Profound. We also got the pleasure of watching the sunset at the beach! Wow. It was so beautiful!!!

We also got to ride bikes around the neighborhood, fly kites at the beach, had campfires on the lawn, met nice people, had good conversations and made a ton of fun memories :) It was such a great weekend that everyone wants to do it again next year!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend
The siblings...

Dan and Celeste on the beach

All of us girls :)

Here is a good one of Mark and his boys!

Matt and I on the beach one foggy morning

Here is Matt with the kite he enjoyed flying :)

Here is a link to ALL the pictures from our lovely weekend!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=213480&id=512029938&l=8481a75fa2

New Things

2010-08-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the only weekend all month that Matt and I didn't have plans to be out of town. So, we set out to try and relax and spend time together. We had a nice night at home in front of the TV on Friday.

Then I got to sleep in on Saturday morning while Matt got up and made Belgian waffles for breakfast :) Saturday early afternoon we spent shopping at the big Fred Meyer sale. I got a really fun new purple and gray plaid shirt... which buttons up the front, so I can still wear it while pregnant ;) I also got 2 Cami's that were on sale and Matt got a new work shirt that was a steal! Here is a picture of my new favorite shirt:

After that we headed home and got to Skype with my Mom and little Annika, who she was babysitting. That was so fun! We got to see Annika holding her head up so well and playing with her toys and the look on her face when she was searching all around to figure out where our voices were coming from!! Then, we had fun trying out a new recipe to take to a BBQ. Our friends Jon and Ally were hosting a BBQ at their house and asked everyone to bring a side, so I decided I wanted Macaroni Salad. Then I realized I didn't want that store bought stuff, I wanted to make it! So, I searched for a recipe and found a ton that looked really good and ended up going with the one that we already had all the ingredients for... no trip to the store is a definite plus! Anyway, we went to the BBQ and it so so great! Lots of friends, a pretty sunset and a campfire :) Plus, the pasta salad was a hit! Here is a link to the recipe if you'd like to give it a try, which I would recommend :) http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222533&adsqs=raid:1631891

Today we went to Church and heard the word from Pastor Steve Walker. That is always good! Then we went to lunch at Dairy Queen with our good friends the Landis'. After lunch, we went shopping again! This time we went to Value Village where we found the perfect paintings to fill the space above our TV! Here is a picture of them after we got them hung up:

The funny thing is, when we saw them, we liked them right away and they seemed oddly familiar to us. Then, when we got home and I couldn't shake the feeling I went looking through our pictures and realized that our friends Lars and Erica have the one on the right! They have had it hanging in their living room ever since we've known them! No wonder it felt familiar :)Anyway, we also ordered a new duvet cover and pillow cases for our bed! Yay! That is super exciting for me :) Here is a link to the one we bought if you want to check it out: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Havanah-Print-310-Thread-Count-Regency-Duvet-Cover-Set/3281882/product.html?rcmndsrc=6. We got the blue and brown one and it should arrive in 5-10 business days! I'm so excited :)

Anyway, now we are relaxing on the couch watching old episodes of The X-files... ending the weekend the same way we began it :)

Week 6!

2010-08-20T23:16:00.000-07:00

I am officially 6 weeks pregnant. So, a month and a half... and I am definitely starting to feel pregnant! What does "feeling pregnant" involve? Well, more frequent trips to the bathroom for a start. Also, heartburn, indigestion, bloating and fatigue :) I have been finding ways to deal with these inconveniences :) For more info on what causes these symptoms and what's going on check this out: http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/week-6.aspx\

As far as baby goes, their little face is beginning to develop and so are their kidney's liver and lungs! Soon to be such a cute little body!!

Anyway, That's all for now! Just wanted to give you all a quick update :)

Blessed Again

2010-08-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

It's true! We're pregnant again!!!! We are so excited to announce that we have a new little one due on April 17th 2011 :)

Now, we know it is pretty early on and most people tend to wait a bit before they make the news public, but before we conceived, while we were still trying we discussed what we would do when it finally happened, and we decided to make the announcement fairly early. For one thing, we are so excited it would be hard to hold the news in for very long! The main reason for that decision is because of what happened with Parker. We want people covering us and this new little one in prayer from the get-go. Also, if something were to happen with this pregnancy, then we know that our support system, all of you, are already aware of what's going on.

So, there you have it!! Our big news :) Our first OB visit is scheduled for September 21st. Ironically, the day we lost Parker last year. I think that it could make for a very emotional day, but I also think it will be the perfect day to see our new baby and hear a healthy little heartbeat :)Plus my parents will be in town! We would love it if you all would join us in praying for this little one growing within me! Oh, and way more updates to follow!!!

A Week at Camp!

2010-07-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Matt and I were counselors at camp last week! Every year our church has summer camp for all of the middle schoolers and high schoolers at Island Lake in Poulsbo. What a beautiful place! In the picture below you can see the dining hall. It is the first main building you come across when entering the camp.

The entrance to camp and the HS girls cabins are off to the right, The waterfront is behind me as I'm taking the picture, as is the waterfront fireside. Behind the dining hall are the ropes course, dirt biking, the paintball field and the guys cabins. To the left of the dining hall is the big grass field where most of our field games took place. On the other side of the field is the woods fireside, the skate park and Greenleaf Lodge, which has rooms around the outside where the MS girls stay and in the center is the great room where the chapels and rallies take place.

Now that you've got the lay of the land, lets talk about what happened at camp! Above is a picture of the girls from my cabin. Such pretty ladies! They are also in the small group I lead with Shareen Bouma during the school year. I enjoyed getting to know them even better.

Everyday we would get up for breakfast (before breakfast was a leaders meeting complete with coffee! Thanks to Phil's espresso cart that was there all week raising money for his daughter's upcoming YWAM trip :) After breakfast was morning chapel with speaker Dean Keust. He was a great and challenging speaker and I think he really got through to the kids. I liked the format of the morning chapels where we would break up into groups for discussion periodically. Anyway, then after chapel we would have our "family group" or cabin time followed by a group competition/game in the field. Then we had lunch, which always had a fun and silly theme. For example, the was mustache Monday and formal Friday :) Which as you can see from the pictures below consisted of the counselors wearing mustaches and tiaras throughout lunch.

After lunch there was always 5 hours of free time. Plenty of time to enjoy all the fun stuff around camp! Also, each cabin had an hour of ropes course scheduled once for the week. Everyone had to go to the ropes course, but once there you could choose to participate or not. I am happy to say that all but one of my girls at least tried!!

The week was full of fun games such as water relays and slime time! Here's a visual:

Another of the awesome aspects of camp were the evening rallies. The worship was great and had a bit of a concert like vibe to it with all the cool lighting! Matt ran the lighting by the way :) He seemed to really enjoy it and learned some new techniques while he was there. Also, our evening speaker, Christian Chapman, really brought the Word and seemed to know how to really get through to the kids. God used him in a mighty way throughout the week!

I must say that in spite of all the fun that was had, the most rewarding part of camp were the lives that were changed through the power of Christ and his love for us. There were 14 kids who accepted God for the first time and about 30 kids who decided to get baptized as a public proclamation of their faith. Here is a picture of some of them lined up ready to get baptized!

So, Anyway, that is what happened at camp!! It was a Lot of fun, and a blessing to be a part of. I can't wait to do it again! I'm also very much looking forward to our cabin "reunion"/girls night coming up!!

If you would like to see the rest of my photos from camp, you can do that here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=193534&id=512029938&l=5ed38bbc9a

What a Party!!

2010-07-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we spent over at the Landis' place celebrating Samantha's 1st birthday!! It was a big BBQ & pool party with cake and presents and all the trimmings! Heather put on a great party and from the looks of it, Samantha enjoyed every minute and soaked up all the attention she could get :) She is such a sweetie and it is hard to believe she is already a year old!

Two months older than Parker would be, it is hard to believe how different life is this year than where we all were last year at this time. Also, for us, much different than what we were planning on life being like this year. But, just because bad things happen doesn't mean life itself is bad, and it is good to remember that and make a habit of looking for the good in life. Granted, at times, you have to look REAL HARD! But, by the grace of God, there is always SOMETHING. Anyway, one of those bright things in our lives is little Samantha! We love that girl to pieces. And her parents, of course ;) Dale and heather have been amazing friends and we are so glad that God put them in our life.

Well, back to the party. It started out with a BBQ, then cake and presents and finally pool time!! It was a ton of fun with friends, in the sun and a great time spent celebrating Samantha's first year of life and looking forward to the next several :) Happy birthday, Samantha Capri Landis!! We love you!

The 4th of July

2010-07-16T15:26:00.001-07:00

I realize that this is a wee bit late for a 4th of July post, but I have been a little lax about blogging lately and wanted to catch up before the posts pile up too much :) This past 4th of July was spent with the Flint family. Mark and Elaine made us all a WONDERFUL "linner", which is to say lunch and dinner in one! It was so yummy. After linner we all went to hang out in the backyard on the new patio Mark built. He has pretty much transformed their backyard in the past couple months and it looks great! So, we all hung out around the fire pit and talked and then had some super delicious angel food cake covered in frosting and berries that Nate and Jen brought over. The perfect dessert! Later that evening we all headed our separate ways. Some to evening church, others to Seattle for fireworks and Matt and I headed home for a relaxing evening watching the animals freak out over the loud booms :) We were a little disappointed not to be seeing fireworks, but we failed to have plans and didn't feel like going to effort of making last minute plans and sitting out side in the damp grass with all the mosquitoes, waiting for a show to start. So, we just stayed in this year. The whole day was nice and relaxing. All-in-all, it was a good 4th! Hope all of you had an enjoyable 4th as well!

TEARS Walk & Rock 2010

2010-06-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

This morning, Matt and I, Mark and Elaine, Scott and Christina Coulson and Mrs. Kishline (Chris's Mom) all participated in the TEARS annual Walk and Rock fund raising walk. We walked in to honor Parker and after last week, when friends of ours also lost their son, we decided to also walked a bit for Evan Riley Davies. I met my fund raising goal of $200 and I was so thrilled! I thought that was great for the 2 short weeks we had to raise it in. Matt actually exceeded his goal and ended up with $220! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED SPONSOR US. We were so excited to be able to raise money for such a great cause and one that is so close to our hearts.

The day started with Matt and I heading over to Mark and Elaine's so that we could all carpool over to Safeco Field. So, we headed out extra early in order to give us plenty of time to find our way there, which was crazy because of road closures for the World Vision Rock and Roll Marathon. We did get a bit turned around, but finally made our way there just in time! We waited in line for a while to check-in and get our T-shirts and once that was all done we found our seats and settled in for the opening ceremony. After that, Matt and I went out onto the field for the Hope lap, which was just for the families who lost a baby. After that, everyone else joined in and we started walking! Close to noon, Matt and I headed to concessions for lunch and we ran into Ron! Ron was the photographer who came in and took photos of Parker and then he also took photos at the memorial service. It was so good to see him, he is a really great guy. We talked to him for at least half an hour and then headed back to the field to do some more laps. Shortly after we got back out there, everyone was called back to their seats for the closing ceremony. For that all the babies names were read and the parents of the baby would walk up and recieved a flower and were able to walk around the field one more time to pick up their butterfly. (There had been butterflies on little sticks posted all around the inside of the track and each held the name of a baby who was being walked for or who had been helped by the foundation). So, that was pretty neat.

The whole event was fairly emotional and we all had our tearful moments, but all-in-all I think it was really great to go someplace where your baby's name is spoken and their little life is acknowledged and where everyone knows the ache of a child not in your arms. Over all, there was just under $50,000 dollars raised for the tears foundation and we are so glad to have participated in this event. Definitely going on the calendar for next year!

The Six Month Challenge

2010-06-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Matt and I are taking on a new challenge beginning tomorrow! We were challenged, by a friend in our Life Group, to read the Bible straight through in six months. He got a schedule from a theology class he is in. He and his wife are doing it and he challenged the rest of our Life Group to do it too. So, we decided to accept the challenge :) It will be about 7 chapters a day. Approximately 30 minutes each morning and evening. I think this is going to be really great. I've tried going through the one year bible before, but with the format, I feel like I'm just jumping all over and I get a little frustrated and then I give up after a while. I think that even though it is more reading per day, I am way more likely to actually get it done because I'll only have to do it for six months rather than a whole year. Anyway, we are excited about this new challenge and are looking forward to digging in for the next six months! If you are interested in the six month challenge, I'll post a link to the reading schedule here:
http://cid-2e4337b8b81abf45.office.live.com/view.aspx/.Public/Copy%20of%202010%20Bible%20Reading%20Plan.xls

A Weekend with the Gilbertsons

2010-06-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was spent with our friends Robyn and Anders Gilbertson. We met them many years ago at Bethel :) Now they are in Madison, WI while Robyn finishes up medical school. Since she had a little break, they decided to take a west coast road trip to celebrate their 5 year anniversary. They came to Seattle and spent the weekend with us to kick off their trip!

We spent Saturday showing them around Whidbey Island. We started by driving to deception Pass, stopping for Teryaki on our way ;) When we got there we parked and walked over the bridge, then we headed down the stairs, walked around under the bridge, crossed the bridge again and then headed down to the beach below the bridge. It was beautiful out! The sun was coming out from behind the clouds, the water was clear, couldn't have been a better time to be on the beach!

Then we headed over to Fort Ebey, which is has an amazing view of the sound and a small fort to explore. There were actually 2 wedding partied there that day taking pictures! What a beautiful place to do your wedding photos. So, we explored inside that fort with our flashlights and cameras and also had fun exploring around the outside of the fort, and the beautiful views.

After that we were feeling the need for a snack, so we decided to stop in Coupeville, at the little ice cream shop there, for a little treat :) Our snack was very tasty and exactly what we wanted!

After ice cream we went on over to Fort Casey, which is much bigger than Ebey, and we spent an hour or two exploring around there, We went into the fort with our flashlights, but mostly explored around the outside looking at all the old gun batteries, ammunition storage places and old structures. We just love going there. A little piece of history with breathtaking views. Plus, right by fort Casey there is a lighthouse. We also went up to see that. Although the inside was closed, so we weren't able to go in. But, Casey was a lot of fun!

After all that running around and exploring we wee getting hungry for dinner. So, we went to The Village Pizzeria in Langley for a bite to eat. They have amazing pizza! We got a large pesto pizza with peperoni on half and it was SO GOOD. After that, it was time to head home, which we did by way of the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry.

It was a great day with good friends!

Sunday morning we headed to Seattle for Bill Speidel's Underground Seattle Tour. Matt and I had been on the tour a few times before, but it is such a fun thing to do that we didn't want Robyn and Andy to miss it. Plus, it is slightly different every time depending on the tour guide you have and it is always funny and full of historical facts.

After that we all headed over to Mark and Elaine's house for a Father's day lunch with the family. We had a super yummy lunch of ribs, baked beans, potato salad and coleslaw. It was SOOO good.

After lunch we ran a few errands and then went out to dinner and came back and played games around the dining room table. It was great to just hang out and relax together after a busy fun-filled weekend.

It was an awesome weekend and we were so glad to be able to spend time with our good friends! Thanks for coming to visit us, you two! Have fun on the rest of your trip and come back again sometime ;)

TEARS

2010-06-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

This past week, Matt and I heard about a fund raising event going on for the TEARS Foundation. It is a foundation that helps grieving parents and families cover the funeral and/or cremation costs after the loss of a baby, during a time when your finances is one of the last things you want to think about. Here is a link to their website if you would like to learn more: http://www.thetearsfoundation.org/

They are having an event called "Walk & Rock" at Safeco Field Saturday the 26th. So, next weekend! It is a 3 hour event that we have decided to participate in and a couple of our friends have also decided to join our "team" and support us as we try to raise money for and help support this worthy cause.

When we lost Parker it was hard in so many ways, but one of the things that was hard to face was the fact that we had to "pay" for this tragedy. With money we didn't have. Our families were a great support to us, financially, and in every way during that time. But, there were costs that no one was expecting or prepared for. We didn't know about the TEARS foundation at that time, but were blessed by a similar ministry. Other organizations that helped us were NILMDTS (http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/) and the Chapel of the Resurrection (http://chapeloftheresurrection.net/). Because of our experience, we want to help this foundation to help other people, like us, during the most difficult time of their lives.

Although it is kind of last minute to get involved with this, we want so badly to help in any way we can. So, we signed up and now we are trying to make people aware of what is going on and asking for sponsors to help us raise money for this foundation. Matt and I both have fund raising sights. I will post links to them below. If this is something you would like to support financially, you can do so electronically on either of our fund raising pages. Prayer support is also very welcome as I'm sure this will bring back a lot of not so distant memories for us. Anyway, we are just excited to be able to be a part of this and try to give back a little :) Plus, the exercise is an awesome bonus! Thank you, Christina, for letting us know about this event and thank you to everyone who has and will support us!

Jill's Page:
http://www.firstgiving.com/parkerflint
Matt's Page:
http://www.firstgiving.com/mattflint

God Bless

Getting Ready!!

2010-05-20T10:35:00.001-07:00

Today and tomorrow I will be packing!! I'm heading to MN on Saturday morning to spend time with friends and family and help prepare for and be in SETH'S WEDDING!!! I can't believe my little brother is going to be a married man, but I am so excited for him and Laura! They are so perfect for each other and Laura fits right into the family, I love them so much and can't wait to celebrate with them :)

I will be gone a little over 2 weeks. The first week, I will be spending at the home of our close friends, Lars and Erica. I get to meet the new addition to their family... Annika Joy!! SO excited to meet this long-anticipated little one. I have been praying for her for so long, and now she is here and I get to meet her. :)

Although, it is a little bittersweet. I can't help but be sad and disappointed that Parker will not be with me on this trip. Yet another scenario that his presence was planned for and is now a sad reminder of his absence.

Anyway, the last part of my trip will be spent at my parents' home, getting ready for the wedding and spending time with family (one of my greatest joys). Then, right before the wedding Matt will be joining me... YAY!!! I'm gonna miss his face. We are both in the wedding party and are excited to be a part of this special occasion! So, we'll be there for all the wedding fun and craziness and then hanging out a day or so afterwards as well.

Then, finally heading home together. Our dog, Annie, is going to be so CRAZY when we get back, I'm sure of it! She has major separation anxiety! But, hopefully being at Mark and Elaine's with them, in a place she is familiar with, will make it easier on her :) Then there are the cats... they will be SOOO cuddly for a couple days after not seeing us for a while :) Although, we do have someone watching our place, feeding them and saying hi. Plus, they have each other, so I don't think they will be too bad off!

Well, guess i better go get started with that packing thing I mentioned before :) Here goes!

My Joshua Jar

2010-05-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks back, I went to a Woman's Tea at my church, Canyon Hills Community Church. My friend Heather hosted a table. Which means she decorated the table, brought dishes and cups, invited people and tore everything down afterward. Basically, I showed up and found the table, which was beautifully decorated... we even got to keep the cute mugs! I sat down and got to chat with all the other lovely ladies at the table and at other tables while we all enjoyed tea and/or coffee. Then we got these HUGE gorgeous cupcakes, sang a few worship songs and got to listen to a speaker.

The speaker was Sara Taylor (sp?) from the local Christian radio station. She spoke on the topic of God's faithfulness and told us about a rock jar that she uses to help remind her of His faithfulness whenever she is in a hard place and needing encouragement. So, she has this jar that she puts rocks in and on each rock is written a word or phrase that represents something big or difficult or joyful that God has brought her through. Then, when she is going through a difficult time she can take all the rocks out and have a visual reminder of all the circumstances God has brought her through in the past and remember God's faithfulness and love. The whole idea came from Joshua 4:5-6 when God brought the Israelites through the Jordan river and and they picked up rocks from the middle of the river when the waters were parted as a reminder to themselves and future generations of what God did for them.

........................................................................................
Joshua 4:5-6
“…Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into
the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a
stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the
tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you.
In the future, when your children ask you, “What do
these stones mean?” tell them that the flow of the
Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of
the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of
the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a
memorial to the people of Israel forever.
........................................................................................

I loved the idea of having a rock jar of my own, so this past week, I rummaged around my closet and found the perfect jar! Then I printed out the verse, emellished it a little (cause' come on, it's me!) and wha-la! I have my very own rock jar. I am calling it my Joshua Jar. I already have three rocks in it. I'm sure you can guess the name that is written on one of them. The others, well, maybe some day I'll tell you about them, but right now, God is still bringing me through those.

Here's a picture of my Joshua Jar :)

Fun with Fish!

2010-05-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

Today we stopped by the pet store to pick up a "chuck-it" for Annie and also came home with some feeder fish for the kitties :) My friend Stacy once told me that she and her husband give their cats fish occasionally for playing and snacking, so we thought we would try it. They were very interested and had a blast playing with them in the tub and then smaller dishes. Oliver was really good about getting them out of the water and onto the floor, but then didn't quite know what to do with them :)He would keep touching the fish with his paws and then licking them. He even licked the fish themselves, but neither of them actually tried eating them! So, they eventually ended up taking a flush down the toilet...

It was a lot of fun watching them with their curious eyes and little hunter's instincts, trying to get the fish :) Fun for everyone!

Her Girlies Are Gone!

2010-04-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

Today Annie got spayed. We found this really inexpensive low-income spay and neuter clinic in Stanwood and set up an appointment for her. It was set for May 8th, but there was a cancellation and we were able to get her in today! So, we took her in at 8 am and went to pick her back up at 4;30. It was SO sad to see her whimpering and cowering :( She just wanted to get away from that place! Not that I blame her one bit... I would have wanted to skedaddle as well. We also found out that she has a bad ear infection, so we'll be needing to find a vet in our area and get her in asap. Anyway, we got her home and she is doing well so far, it is just hard to see her in pain and lethargic. But, they said the procedure went well and she should be doing much better in 2-3 days and fully recovered in a few weeks!

A Day Trip

2010-04-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

On Friday I was able to visit the Tulip Fields in Scagit Valley for the first time!! I went with Mark, Elaine and Gramma Dottie. I also brought Annie along so she wouldn't be lonely at home :)

The Tulips only bloom for a few weeks each year and then they are all pruned and the bulbs are harvested for sale. We made it just in time to see the last two fields that were still in bloom. Apparently, if you go a little earlier, there are Tulips in bloom for miles and miles, as far as the eye can see. It sounds amazing. As it was, it was so gorgeous! I can't wait to go another year and see all of them! What a beautiful experience.

After enjoying the Tulip fields, we drove over deception pass onto Whidbey Island for lunch. We went to the Knead and Feed Bakery and Restaurant in Coupeville. I had an amazing tomato and swiss sandwich on freshly baked bread with a bowl of clam chowder. It was so fresh and delicious tasting! Then we had a small cone of ice cream in the sun before heading back home via the Mukilteo Ferry.

It was a GREAT day with Mark, Elaine and Dottie! I had so much fun and it was great to spend some time in the sunshine and fresh air! Plus, it was just nice to get out of the house for a while :)

Annie's Here!

2010-04-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Matt's Uncle Alan and Aunt Lorrie drove Annie up from CA this weekend. They arrived at Mark and Elaine's Friday night. So, after Lifegroup, we headed over to their place to pick her up!

When we brought her home, things went as smoothly as we could have hoped. The cats were not sure about her at first, mostly Riley wasn't sure, but he only hissed once or twice and then went to hide under the bed for a bit. Oliver sniffed her and was like, cool, whatever, and went about his business. He's such a laid back cat! Annie, growled a little, but there was no barking or snapping or anything really aggressive, just a little warning that she wasn't sure about them and don't come too close :) After about an hour everyone was pretty calm and just sat on opposite sides of the room, checking each other out, while we watched a show on TV.

Saturday, Matt's cousin, Melissa drove over from Spokane with her dog, Emma, who is Annie's half sister. Also, Matt's Gramma Dotti flew in and is going to spend the week here :) We all hung out at Mark and Elaine's and chatted, catching up. Then, later that evening, Nate came over and we all celebrated Matt's birthday together. We had flank steak, baked potatoes, grilled peppers, Olive Garden salad and garlic bread. Then we had strawberry shortcake for dessert. Boy was it a great dinner! And a great time together, with family, celebrating Matt and just being together.

Today, Sunday, we all had lunch together, super yummy sandwiches that were made with leftover flank steak! Then we all headed over to the park by Mark and Elaine's house with the dogs and Mark's remote controlled airplane and had a great time enjoying the sun and warm weather.

It was a great weekend and we are happy to welcome Annie to the family!

What Happened to the Eggs??

2010-04-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

Matt and I dyed Easter eggs with our friends, Scott and Christina this year :) I forgot my camera, which is a shame, but Christina got some good pictures of the four of us together, so I'll add one of those to this post when I get it from her.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun together. We don't get to hang out as often as we would all like to, but we do get together every couple of months and always have a fabulous time! So, we went over to their place, had dinner, which was a really yummy elk roast, and dyed eggs! We started out with a dozen then one broke in the boiling process, so we ended up with eleven. We did the ultra bright option and they turned out really deeply colored and very cool looking.

So, we took ours home, and put them in the fridge for later use... we wouldn't want to waste them :) Then, as I took them out of the fridge yesterday to make an egg salad sandwich, they looked different... and weird! They got all crack-ly looking and blotchy. Which is too bad, cause they were so pretty! Well, once I got the shells all off, you couldn't tell a difference and they all tasted quite normal. That's all that is really important!

"Hey, while you're up... could I get an egg sandwich?"

Easter Day

2010-04-04T19:55:00.001-07:00

Wow, today was Easter. Where is this year going?!?! It has really snuck up on me this year. If I think about it, I guess that makes sense. My mind was otherwise occupied for a few months, time seemed to be relative. But, here we are in the midst of April showers, and before we know it, we'll be enjoying May flowers *fingers crossed*!

Anyway, this year we celebrated Easter with Matt's Mom's side of the family. We were all signing up for food via e-mail and before I knew it, everything but dessert was spoken for... so, I signed up for dessert! After "The Great Cake Flop" at Celeste's birthday, I was a bit weary about baking another cake from scratch, but, I found this recipe entitled "Decadent Double Chocolate Bundt Cake" and I had to give it a try :) I may not be the best baker in the world, but I always try! Practice makes perfect... right?

So, Saturday afternoon my friend Christina came over (She was making banana bread) and we set out on our baking adventure! It was fun, we had some girl time, stuck our creations in the oven and settled in for a movie. So, we were a bit confused by this recipe of mine... for the most part it was pretty straight forward, but towards the end it was a bit more... confusing. Maybe just because we don't do much baking? I don't know, but it seemed as if we were supposed to do things in the wrong order: Take cake out of oven, pour glaze over cake (this is a bundt cake, so that would be the bottom!), THEN cool for 30 minutes, Then remove cake from pan and sprinkle with powder sugar. Hhmmm. So, we were confused and just went about doing things the way we thought was right: Remove cake from oven, cool for 30 minutes, remove from pan, pour on glaze, sprinkle with powder sugar. NOW I realize why that was wrong and what the recipe was saying ;) So, the glaze is supposed to go on the bottom while the cake is still in the pan so that you don't lose any of that yummy-ness. Instead it soaks into and around the whole thing. Now I know this. Now I also know that when it says to brush the pan with oil, flour it AND coat with cooking spray, that all those steps really ARE necessary EVEN IF your pan is non-stick! There was a bit of a hiccup with the getting the cake out of the pan part... but, I think I patched it up pretty well and that it went fairly unnoticed ;)

So, not the smoothest of cake baking experiences, but it was better than last time and it tasted great! For those of you willing to give it a try, I will post the recipe below. With the benefit of my experience, you should do splendidly!!

The truth is, everyone seemed to enjoy it and it was great spending time with family and celebrating Jesus' death and ressurection and that is what matters! Although, I can't wait for the easter egg hunts to begin :) Happy Easter everyone!

Decadent Double Chocolate Bundt Cake:

Glaze:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
¼ cup chocolate-flavored liqueur
2 tablespoons butter
Cake:
1 ½ teaspoons canola oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Cooking spray
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 ½ ounces)
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups 1% low-fat milk
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. To prepare glaze, combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cool completely.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. To prepare cake, drizzle oil into a 12-cup Bundt pan; coat pan thoroughly with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour, shaking out excess. Coat prepared pan with cooking spray.

4. Place 1 ½ cups granulated sugar and 6 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

5. Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 3 cups flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition. Beat 2 minutes. Fold in chips. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Swirl batter using a knife.

6. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately pour glaze over cake. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto a serving plate; cool completely. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.

A Week with Sammy & Hillary

2010-03-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Sammy and Hilly were here for spring break :) The tickets were given to each of them as birthday gifts and them being here was like a birthday gift to me! So, here is a fun recap of our week together:

We picked them up Saturday night at the airport and then on Sunday morning we went to church. Grandma and Grandpa, Josh and Heather, and Jake and Courtney all came to church with us too! So fun that we were all in town at the same time. So, after church we all went to Red Robin together. Yummy food and great company, what more could you ask for??

Then, on Monday, we had a really fun day. It was GORGEOUS out! Warm, sunny, and well, just perfect. Sammy and Matt went to play racquetball with Dale in the am and while they were doing that, Hilly and I took a walk around Juanita Beach and Juanita Bay Park. We took pictures the whole time and got some really good ones. Then, we went to meet the boys in Bothell for Teryaki :) After that, we all went to the park on the corner and played bocce ball. Finally, we ended the day with my birthday dinner at Mark and Elaine's. (To read all about that, check back two posts)

On Tuesday we all headed over to Snoqualmie Falls. What a sight!! Matt and I had never been before, but I always saw pictures of people there and heard that it was great. So, I was looking forward to this adventure. Of course, we had to decide to go check out a waterfall and go hiking on the day it decided to rain! Well, it was awesome anyway :) The upper observation deck was closed for construction, but the mid and lower decks were open, so we checked those out. To get to the lower observation deck, there was a short hike down a fairly steep grade and then down some stairs and onto a boardwalk that took us all the way out to the lookout point. Then of course the guys had to jump over that railing and head right up to the base of the falls! Hilly and I hiked back up as far as the lower parking lot and the boys hiked the rest of the way back and came to pick us up, so we waited for them under a big thick tree to try and stay as dry as possible ;) Later that night, after dinner, a friend of ours, Ryan, who was in town stopped by and we all watched the movie "Boondock Saints 2" together.

On Wednesday, Matt had to go back to work. So, Hilly, Sammy and I met up with the Landis family and we all headed to Seattle to go on the Underground Seattle Tour, which was super cool! They sit you down and give you all the background and historical info on Seattle's beginnings, all with quite a comedic flair. Then they take us underground and show us all of the stuff they were talking about as well as more info and jokes along the way :) I would recommend this tour if you are ever in the area, really fun and full of historical facts. After the tour, we all headed to a nearby Quizznos for lunch and then hit the rush hour traffic on our way to pick Matt up from work. Although it was rush hour, the traffic really wasn't as bad as we were expecting, so we got there about an hour early! So, instead of heading home, we went down to the Kirkland waterfront to soak up some of the sun that decided to grace us with its presence ;) Then we also hit up the waterfront down at Carillon Point, next to Matt's office until we met up with him at the car. Very fun day!

Thursday was just a relaxing day. We hung around at home, played games and made dinner together. Then, after dinner, we watched the movie "Up". So cute! Definitely a movie worth seeing. Over all, it was a very relaxing day, with lots of quality time together.

Friday was our last full day together, and Matt was working again, so we borrowed Elaine's car and hit the road! We had another Teryaki lunch and went down to the Mukilteo beach. Friday was also a beautiful, sunny day, so Hilly and I took a bunch of fun pictures, we walked along the beach, walked by the ferry and had ice cream at Ivar's. Then we drove by the house we used to rent, a few blocks up from the ferry, when we first moved to WA. After that we headed over to Everett, right on the outskirts of Mukilteo and drove by the house that we rented there the second year we all lived here as a family. We wrapped up our trip down memory lane by hitting up the beach in Everett. It has this cool bridge that you use to get over the train tracks and then go down a couple flights of stairs and you're there! It was so gorgeous, the tide was out and the sun was shining and there was sand in our shoes... it was great!

Finally Saturday morning we had to take them to the airport and say "see you later", but we had such a great week and made lots of fun new memories! I'm so glad that they were able to come and visit! I miss my family so much! It is so great to be able to have times like these, where you are just hanging out, being together, doing new things together. Thanks for coming you guys!!! Love you so much <3 Come again any time ;)

We're Ready!

2010-03-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

For Annie, that is! Annie is a beautiful, sweet tempered golden retriever who is coming to live with us! She arrives on April 10th and we are already set to go :) What with me being the prepare-ahead-of-time type and all ;)

Food: Check

Place to eat: Check

Bed: Check

Treats:Check
Poop Bags: Check (bonus: they attach to the leash)

ID tag: check

Plus: Toys, a park on the corner,lots of love, willingness to care for and play with = check,check, check, check, and check

Stay tuned for the Adventures of Spring Break!

What a Wonderful Birthday...

2010-03-16T21:16:00.001-07:00

The big 2-7!! Almost 30. WOW, does time fly, or what! This has been a very wonderful birthday!! First of all, Sammy and Hillary are here for spring break, so I have been able to spend a lot of time with them. Also, Grandma and Grandpa were in town and Matt and I have been able to spend some quality time with them. Plus, I have gotten to see my cousin Heather and her husband Josh and their new little baby AND my other cousin, Courtney, and her husband, Jake, were in town for the weekend and we got to see them. It has been a weekend full of fun and family! Who could ask for more? I still miss Parker everyday, and wish he was here on this day... I always hoped to have children by now. But, by God's grace I have been able to see a lot of my family this weekend and we had a BEAUTIFUL sunny day and I got to have a wonderful birthday dinner with good food and great company. Thanks to everyone who has made this birthday so special. And to those of you who couldn't be here, I missed you and thought of you and I hope to see you ALL soon!

Happy Birthday Baby Corbin!

2010-03-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

Corbin James Phillips arrived this afternoon to the delight of his parents, my cousin Heather and her husband Josh. My little second cousin arrived around 1:20. He was 8 lbs. 13 oz and I think, 21 inches long. And such a CUTIE!! Welcome to the world, little Corbin! Congrats, Josh and Heather!!

Mt. Baker 2010!

2010-03-02T12:48:00.001-08:00

Matt and I spent last weekend up at Mt. Baker with the youth group for the "Summit 2010" retreat. We go up to The Firs Chalet every year for the winter retreat. It is really great, we all drive up there together in the church vans. It is about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive, depending on traffic and weather conditions. Then we spend the weekend listening to a great speaker, this year we had the privilege of being taught by Pastor Jeff. He did an awesome job! Really great messages on the idea of "summiting" vs. "sliding". We also have "family time", which is just time with your roommates, after each message time. That is where we discuss the message together, answer questions, pray together and encourage one another. Then, there is a ton of free time that everyone spends skiing, snowboarding, sledding, playing games, watching movies, reading... you name it! Mt. Baker is just the most gorgeous place to go play in the snow and then warm up in the Chalet
in front of the fire with hot chocolate! This year was great, as always! We had a lot of fun watching people sled down "suicide hill" and playing card games with the kids. Our group times went well and all the students seemed to have a great time! So, it was a successful retreat and left everyone exhausted and ready to go home and sleep! Especially us girls, who got to sleep on on the third floor while all the noisy guys were on the fourth floor keeping us awake with their rambunctious behavior ;)

Surprise Party!

2010-03-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

This past month we celebrated Mark's 60th birthday with a surprise party! It was a lot of fun. We invited his friends old and new and all the family in the area. We had about 20 or so people there, so it was a good turn out! We made ribs and people brought side dishes, including some really yummy chili and of coarse Aunt Gwynn's potato salad. Then, there was strawberry cheesecake for dessert. The food was good, the company was great and he was indeed surprised :) Oh, and as a gift us kids and Elaine went in together to get him a seaplane ride to Friday Harbour where he and Elaine would spend 4 days relaxing and exploring. They actually just went last weekend and it sounds like they had a blast! So, I would venture to say, that in every way, it was a successful party!! Happy Birthday, Dad!

Recent Happenings

2010-03-02T11:40:00.001-08:00

Matt's newest project is restoring this bike. He recently got it from some friends of ours as a kind of, you fix it, you keep it thing. So, he has been spending his free time buying parts,looking up online tutorials, and hanging out in his parent's garage borrowing tools. At this point it is almost done and he is eagerly anticipating his first ride! It has been a really good deal for us, actually... we get a $700 bike for the $125 cost of repairs! Just in time for summer, too :)
Another fun thing, Matt recently went to the Oh Boy Oh Berto office in Kent, as part of a project he is working on and when he was leaving, they gave him this bag full of their products. There is probably $30-$50 worth of beef jerky and pepperoni sticks of all possible flavors in this bag! Matt LOVES beef jerky, so he was pretty excited! So far, out of all the ones we have tried, our favorite is by far the BBQ Pork jerky... mmmm... super yummy.
As for me, I have been spring cleaning. I know, I know, it is not spring yet! But, I thought I would do it while I was motivated. Otherwise, it might not get done :) This is a picture of our stocked pantry. The neatness and organization you see here continues throughout the apartment, which is a euphoric thing, for a neat freak like me!! I am so excited about my uber clean house! Here is hoping it lasts at least two weeks ;) Oh, by the way, we are not stockpiling food or anything, we just have a SUPER shallow pantry, so we have to stack up rather than out ;)

Valentine's Day

2010-02-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day this year was surprisingly harder for me than I thought it would be. I was fine until the night before, when I started getting inexplicably sad. Then, I went to bed and could not, for the life of me, fall asleep. Then I realized... this Valentin's Day would not be what I was expecting it to be. Last year we were pregnant and so excited to be parents... we went to Barnes and Noble for coffee and browsed through the childrens books and talked about how next year would be different, we would have a 4 1/2 month old and if we wanted to go on a date we would have to bring the baby along or get a sitter... and we were so looking forward to it. Then, this Valentine's Day comes along and I found myself as free as a bird, with no little one to make life more blessedly challenging... and I lost it for a little while. Around 4am I was finally able to fall asleep.
Then I got up on Sunday and it was a new day. Still tinted with sadness and loss, but with renewed hope. Matt let me sleep in and went to church without me, so I actually got about 7 hours of sleep! Then I got up and got ready for our date. We went to a matinee showing of "Valentine's Day" which, we didn't know much about, but it seemed appropriate :) We enjoyed the movie. After that, we headed to PF Changs for dinner. Boy was that yummy! We got the dinner for 2 which is an appetizer to share, soup for each, main course for each and a mini dessert for each person. It was very delicious and satisfying! Plus, it was a good deal! So, we had a fun date night and enjoyed time spent together. Oh, and I have been enjoying my flowers for several days now! I love my honey!!

Samantha Time!

2010-02-13T22:00:00.000-08:00

Today we got to watch Samantha for the day while her Mom and Dad went to the ballet and dinner. She is such a sweetheart, it was not a hard thing to agree to. We hung out around the house and played with fun toys, ate some rice cereal and sweet potatoes and TRIED to take a nap. But, things were just too interesting and different to fall asleep! So, we headed out to run a few errands and she fell asleep in the car, which is a good thing, because otherwise she would have gotten NO sleep all day. The poor thing was so tired, but too interested in everything around her to actually take a nap. Hopefully she will sleep well for Mommy and Daddy tonight :) It was a good day! Anyway, we had fun with our little playmate for the day and we were blessed to get to spend time with such a happy baby! Thanks for the loaner, Dale and Heather!!

"10 Favorite Things"

2010-02-08T11:04:00.001-08:00

My friend Heather does this "10 Favorite Things" post on her blog every once in a while and I think it is really fun! So, I am stealing her idea and letting you all know what 10 of my favorite things are right now. Hope you enjoy and I would love to hear about your fave things!

#1: Sunshine!!!
We have been seeing a lot more of the sun recently and boy does it do wonders. It is like an instant mood brightner :) I love the way it shines into the apartment in the morning and afternoon, it is so refreshing and energizing.

#2: My new laptop computer
I really enjoy having my own laptop to use around the house and I love that it is small and portable. It is an Eee PC by Asus and it is 10 inches with a full sized keyboard. It has such a long battery life (10.5 hours) that I rarely have to worry about running out. It is perfect for traveling, too. It fits right in my big purse and fits nicely on the seat back trays on airplanes. It does everything I need it to... word processing, pictures, wireless internet, ect... hey, maybe I should go into sales?? Seriously though, I am really enjoying it!

#3: "Core Secrets" workout DVD's
So, this is the first thing I ever purchased from an info-mercial (you can also find it online)!! I wasn't sure about it at first, but I wanted to try something involving an exercise ball and a friend of mine had it, so I gave it a shot. Now I am so glad that I did because it has become one of my favorite forms of exercise apart from walking. I love that balancing on the ball forces you to always be engaging your "core" muscles and I REALLY enjoy using the weights and the ball together. I bought the ball and the introductory DVD together for about $25, I think, and I signed up to have 2 new DVD's sent to me every other month. Now I have about 9 different DVD's total and I love that I can rotate through them and not get bored. Plus, I like rotating through the upper body, lower body and total body workouts throughout the week so that I am working something different every time. This is the one workout video series that i have actually enjoyed enough to stick with it, that alone makes me love it :)

#4: Our new cell phones
So, a few weeks ago, my phone just up-and-died one day! It was fine and then it wasn't, which is something I have heard is common with Motorola phones, but it worked really well up to that point! Anyway, we were 2 months from the end of our contract anyway, so we went and got new phones for both of us. We got the Samsung Gravity 2. First of all, I liked the color choices. I also really liked the fact that it has a full keyboard... that was definately a requirement for my new phone, since I struggle with texting and was getting really frustrated trying to text all the time. I LOVE having a keyboard, it it 90% easier for me to text with it. The one thing I was worried about with getting a new phone was having to figure out how to use said phone! But, I have been pleasantly surprised by how user-friendly they are. All-in-all I am very pleased with the change and am liking my new phone enough to put it in my top ten things I'm enjoying right now.

#5: My new coffee press!!
For Christmas, my brother-in-law, Nate, got me a stainless steel insulated coffee press for a gift. Man, I have been loving it! The coffee actually has better taste and texture when made in a press rather than a coffee machine. The difference amazes me. Plus, I find it to be a lot simpler to use, especially since i am the only coffee lover in the house. It is way easier to make a small amount at one time in a press. It is just like making loos-leaf tea. Anyway, I have been enjoying my morning coffee even more than usual, so thank you Nate, for my awesome gift!

#6: My two-year planner
When I was in Spokane last summer, I went to a card shop with my Grandma Rima and we found these purse-sized planners, like the ones you see at office supply stores all the time, except this one was a 2 year planner instead of a one year planner! So, we both got one and I am just loving mine. I showed it to my friend Heather, and she liked it so much that she made me pick one up for her the next time I was in Spokane. It is just a small, you could say inconsequential, thing but I love it!!

#7: TV time with my Honey
Matt and I enjoy watching TV together. On a typical evening he will come home from work, I will have dinner ready or we will make it together, we will sit down and eat, talk about our days and whatever else is on our minds, run errands or what-have-you and then we will end our evening sitting on the couch together, watching a show or two. I love having that time at the end of the night where we are together, relaxing and unwinding. It is nice to de-stress together :)

#8: Thai Beef Salad
Recently, after my pregnancy, Matt and I started weight watchers together. We don't go to the meetings or anything, we just bought a starter kit on Amazon.com and keep track of our "points" throughout the day and week. So, that has spurred us into finding new and fun recipes that are healthy and well-rounded. That search lead me to the book "Healthy Appetite" by Ellie Krieger, where I found this recipe:

Thai Beef Salad:
1 lb top round London broil or flank steak, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick (we use whatever kind of steak we have on-hand)
3 Tbs fresh lime juice (we sub lemon)
3 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbs canola oil (we sun veggie on occasion)
2 Tbs firmly packed brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated
1 1/4 tsp red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce (we sub red pepper flakes)
1/2 head torn red leaf lettuce (about 5 C lightly packed)
3 shallots, thinly sliced, about 1/2 C (we sub onion)
1/2 C coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (we sub 1 Tbs dried)
1 C fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons (we sub dried)

place meat in resealable bag. In med bowl, combine lime juice, soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, curry paste. Pour half the mixture over the meat in the bag, seal tightly and marinate in the fridge 2 hours or up to 24hrs. Reserve rest for dressing salad.

cook meat to desired doneness, toss salad with onions and reserved dressing. Divide onto 2-4 plates and top with meat.

We have fallen in love with this salad! We love the rich flavor and the simplicity of throwing it together. Serve it with some whole grain bread and a cup of milk and it is a tasty and filling meal. We usually only marinate it for 2 or 3 hours and we have even done it as little as 20 minutes. But, it is always good.

#9: "Tabletalk"
Since the end of January I have been meeting with a Christian counselor at my church, Canyon Hills Community Church in Bothell, and she introduced me to this small magazine-like publication called "Tabletalk". It comes out once a month and has articles by christian writers in it, usually all focusing around a certain topic for that month, and at the back it has daily devotionals. I love the articles, they are very insightful and well written. I also find the devotionals to be laid out in a very practical and do-able fashion. Anyway, I am learning a lot and really enjoying my time spent reading this and digging into the word.

#10: My Cats!
Last but not least! Actually, I am pretty sure my cats would always make my top ten favorite things :) I love having pets, always have and I just get so much enjoyment out of having them around. Oliver and Riley are always doing things to make me laugh and I never tire of the kitty cuddles. They have such cute little personalities. They have also been enjoying the increased amounts of sunshine we have been getting. Whenever the blinds are open you are sure to find them in front of the slider door, checking things out and lounging in the sunshine!

Loss and Suffering

2010-02-02T16:41:00.000-08:00

These past few months I have been thinking a lot about these topics. Why does God allow suffering? Is there a purpose to it?Why do we have to hurt so bad, ect... I also know a lot of other people who are asking or have asked these questions. I certainly don't claim to have all the answers, but I am beginning to wrap my head around a few concepts that are helping me deal. Below is an excerpt from an article that I read recently entitled "For my Good?" by RC Sproul. I came across the article in the Jan 2010 edition of "TABLETALK". It is a relatively short amount of content, but I think he explains things rather succinctly and I really like the way he wrote about the subject. So, here it is...

"...I know enough about what the Bible teaches of God's providence and of His sovereignty to know that sometimes God's sovereign providence involves suffering and affliction for His people. That we are in the care of a sovereign God whose providence is benevolent does not exclude the possibility that He may send us into periods of trials and tribulations that can be excruciatingly painful. Though I trust God's Word that in the midst of such experiences He will give to me the comfort of his presence and the certainty of my final deliverance into glory, in the meantime I know that the way of affliction and pain may be difficult to bear. The comfort that I enjoy from knowing God's providence is mixed at times with the knowledge that His providence may bring me pain. I don't look forward to the experience of pain with giddy anticipation; rather, there are times when it's necessary for me and for others to grit our teeth and to bear the burdens of the day. Again, I have no question of the outcome of such affliction, and yet at the same time, I know that there are afflictions that will test me to the limits of my faith and endurance. That kind of experience and knowledge makes it easy to understand the tension between confidence in God's sovereign providence and our own struggle with anxiety.
Romans 8:28, ...states that "all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose" (NKJV). There's no other text that demonstrates so clearly and magnificently the beauty of God's sovereign providence than that one. The text does not say that everything that happens to us, considered in and of itself, is good; rather; it says that all things that happen are working together for our good. That is the master plan of God's redemptive providence. He brings good out of evil. He brings glory out of suffering. He brings joy out of affliction... The promise of God that all things work together for good to those who love God is something that has to get not only into our minds, but it has to get into our bloodstreams, so that it is a rock-solid principle by which life can be lived."

Well, that was a little longer than I thought it would be...

Crazy Cats!

2010-01-20T11:10:00.000-08:00

So, this morning I woke up to the strangest scratching sounds! Wondering what could be going on, I got up and went in search of the noise. And there I found Oliver and the container that we store the cats food in... Oliver was hungry and didn't feel like waiting for me to get up! So, he decided to help himself. Somehow over the past couple of weeks, he has learned how to open the container, which is all very thick plastic with a lid that has an opening that needs to be flipped open and I have no idea how he did it! But, he was quite proud of his accomplishment and was helping himself to the food when I found him!

The funny thing about cats is they tend to be a lot smarter and more resourceful than we think! I guess they ARE hunters by nature ;)

Canlis - Malcolm Pirnie Holiday Party

2010-01-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

This year Matt's work Christmas party was pushed off until January due to schedule conflicts. So, last night we all went to Canlis, in Seattle. It is probably one of the best restaurants in the city. Certainly the best we've ever been to!

We started the evening off with a bottle of fine champagne that was sent over-night from Paris from one of Malcolm Pirnie's clients. I have never been much of a fan of champagne, but this stuff was great :) Then we each recieved a warm dinner roll with butter and a small personal sized bread. Each time we were served, it was like a choreographed dance. One server on each side of the table, moving clockwise, very elegant.

Then, we had our first courses. Matt had a crab cake that was delicious and served with curried cream sauce and I had a salad that was hearts of romaine with blue cheese crumbles and mint drizzled in a vinaigrette. It was also very good. Then, our main course was brought out to us, a server for every person, all our plates set in front of us at the same moment. Matt and I shared the roasted duck for two. It was presented to the table and then taken back to the kitchen and carved and brought back out for us to eat. I had never had duck before and was pleasantly surprised. I really liked it! The skin was crunchy and brown and it was tender inside. Very yummy. We also each had a side dish that we shared. I got truffle fries, hand cut potatoes, double fried then drizzled in truffle oil and tossed with fresh herbs and seasonings. Matt got forest mushrooms in a red wine sauce. They were both very tasty! We also had drinks with our dinner and that was all followed by amazing desserts. Matt got a decadent yet light creme brulee and I got "chocolate covered chocolate". It had a small molten chocolate cake on one side and on the other there was a ball of banana ice cream covered in chocolate. That was probably my favorite part, cool and decadent... mmm!! Oh and of course there was coffee with dessert :)

Anyway, the whole night was amazing!! Good company, good conversations, all around enjoyable. I've got to tell you that after the crappy couple months I've had, it felt so good to be decadent and feel pampered. It gave me a boost and I'm thankful for a good weekend and feeling light-hearted for a while :) Thank you Malcolm Pirnie!

" White Christmas"

2009-12-21T15:18:00.000-08:00

This past week we had the opportunity to see the musical "White Christmas" in downtown Seattle at the 5th Ave Theatre. We went with Mark and Elaine, Dan and Celeste and Nate. Before hand we all went out to dinner at McCormick and Schmick's, which was really good. Matt and I shared the pork chops with mushrooms in a marsala wine sauce, green beans and mushroom risotto. It was delicious and it was good to spend time in conversation with family. Then we headed over to the Theatre. Matt and I have not been to a play or musical in ages and I had forgotten how great it is to watch something live. Those people are so talented! I can't clap while I sing, much less dance and act and sing all at the same time!! Anyway, the musical was beautiful and entertaining and at the very end it snowed on the whole audience! It was magical :) We really enjoyed ourselves and were glad to be able to hang out with the Flint side of our family since we won't be with them for Christmas this year. Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

Christmas Cards

2009-12-19T13:13:00.000-08:00

This Christmas WAS the first Christmas that I was going to be all on top of things and get a letter put together and hand make cards and send them to all of our friends and family to let them know about all that has been going on in our lives for the past year. I love getting those updates from other people, and I say every year that I want to do it and every year I put it off until it is too late or too stressful or what have you.

This year I decided to put it off again. Mostly because the majority of people already know what has been going on the past year and more notably how it has ended... and if they don't know for some reason, it is not exactly something you want to put in a Christmas letter. So, until next year.

But, I did end up making some cards for Matt's co-workers and boss. I used my very favorite Christmas stamp and stuck with my favorite color, green, and I really like the way they turned out! Though, I think my favorite part is the little crystal at the top of the tree :) I am such a girl!

Anyway, all that to say, I didn't write an update letter, but I did get to make some cards, and I think that is good enough for this year. Maybe next year will be the year it all comes together!

Merry Christmas to everyone and may you have a blessed New Year.

A Flint Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T12:40:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Flint side of the family in Spokane. Matt's cousin, Melissa, lives there. Gramma Dottie and Melissa's parents, Alan and Lorrie, came up from California and we all drove over from the Seattle area.

Thanksgiving day was wonderful. We played games and hung out together then had an amazing meal at dinner time. It was good to spend time with family that we don't get to see very often. Then Friday we all just hung around, some people went for a walk, some went shopping and some of us just stayed at the house. Then of course, there was more great food :) as well as more game playing and hanging out in the evening hours.

I also got to see my Grandma and Grandpa Rima a tiny bit since we slept at their house. Then on Saturday morning we had breakfast with them and hit the road again to head back home.

Overall it was a great weekend with time spent with family and many thoughts of all the things we are thankful for. Most of all, I am thankful that even when life is hard, there is always SOMETHING to be thankful for. Sometimes you just need to slow down and count your blessings, as cheesy as it may sound ;)

The Past 2 Months

2009-11-21T22:08:00.000-08:00

So, this has by far been the most heartbreaking, faith testing and hardest 2 months of our lives. By God's grace we are still here and moving forward. Though for me life has lost a bit of its luster, I know that it will not always be this way. Every day God gives us the strength to get through, be it with tears or laughter. Losing Parker has been very difficult but we are looking forward to the future and having more babies and telling them all about their big brother, Parker Ellis, who was only with us for 9 short months but changed our lives and hearts forever.

We wanted to let everyone know that we have gotten most of the autopsy results back now and the cause of death was determined to be "placental insufficiency". So basically, the placenta stopped functioning as it should and was not getting Parker the nourishment that he needed. They said it "aged prematurely". However, they do not know what caused the placenta to fail in this way.

The good news is that in subsequent pregnancies there are ways of checking for this problem to make sure it is not happening again. My next pregnancies will be considered high risk. So, I will have more ultrasounds, more check-up visits (especially towards the end), regular non-stress tests and they will be generally keeping a very close eye on the baby and I. They will also consider inducing me as soon as the babies lungs are fully developed even if everything is looking good. Especially if there are any concerns.

As far as getting pregnant again is concerned, the Dr said that we can start trying again as soon as two things happen. 1. 3-6 months go by after the delivery date (which was Sept. 21st) 2. I lose all the weight I gained in the last pregnancy. So, right now it has been 2 months and my weight watchers stuff should be coming in the mail any day! I am also starting to exercise again now that the Dr. ok'd it. So, we are already praying and planning for the next little one God blesses us with, whenever that may be. Though we are hoping for sooner rather than later :)

We are having more and more good days, having fun with friends and spending quality time with each other. We went to Whidbey Island over Halloween weekend to spread Parker's ashes and relax together for a few days. It was very good. I have also been able to fly out to MN to visit my family, thanks to a very generous gift I received. So, things are settling into a new normal for us and we are getting excited for the future and all the possibilities it holds. There is a lot of hope there. Thank you all for your prayers and support. We really couldn't have gotten through such a tough time without you all.

Thanks be to God, our father, the one who loves our little boy more than we can know... The One who comforts and strengthens us daily.

This is us with Parker after I delivered himThis is us on the Deception Pass bridge where we spread Parker's ashes
Me with my Dad on my trip to MNMy Mom and I on my trip to MN

Just Need A Little Time...

2009-10-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys, Just wanted to let you all know that there will be more blogging to come, but I just need a little time. Don't really feel like writing right now :) But, we'll be back soon, folks!

38 Weeks

2009-09-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

As of this past Saturday, I am 38 weeks pregnant! So close to having Parker in my arms!! As of last Thursday, I am 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced but, not fully engaged. She said that when she pushed on his head it would bounce away and then back and if he was fully engaged he wouldn't really move. The contractions have been about the same since then, so we will see what, if anything, more has happened this Thursday at our next appointment!

I am feeling much less stressed out, since our house is in order and mostly clean. What a difference that makes to me! I really do take after my Mom in that way :) It is very hard for me to relax in a messy place. So, having Parker's room in order and all of our living spaces clean and tidy has done wonders for me. I am SO glad that my husband is so willing to help me out and take responsibility for things that I just can't do anymore! He is such a blessing to me. He cleaned the shower for me yesterday and I can't tell you how happy I was! It is funny, some of the things I used to do without thinking about it, that my body just can't do at this stage of pregnancy.

On another note, I am SO looking forward to this Friday!! Mom and Dad will be arriving! I'm so excited to see them and for them to see us and our place and be able to spend time with them :) They will be here until October 10th! So, that gives us a lot of time together and gives me a lot of help and support while figuring out how to care for a newborn!
It will be especially nice for me, since Matt will not be able to take much time off. We found out that he does not qualify for FMLA leave, because he hasn't been with the company a year yet. So, any time he does take off will be PTO and we are trying to save as much of that as possible for our trip to MN this December.
Seth, his girlfiend, Laura, Hilly and Sammy will also be coming out for a little bit after Parker is born and we can't wait to see them!! It has been way too long... I love it here in the NW but I do miss my family a LOT and I feel so blessed that they will be able to be here to share this with us.

Matt's work is going really well and he has plenty to keep him busy, sometimes more than enough! So, that is good. You can be praying that the merger goes smoothly... If you were not aware, his company, Malcolm Pirnie, has been bought out by a company called Arcadis (sp?). So, things will start changing in the near future, though it looks like not too much at first.

We will try our best to keep you all updated in the coming weeks and will get picture of Parker up as soon as possible, after he graces us with his presence ;)

36 Weeks and 3 Days

2009-09-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

35 Weeks

2009-08-29T08:44:00.001-07:00

34 Weeks

2009-08-18T10:13:00.001-07:00

Now I am 34 weeks pregnant. (as of today, it is 34 weeks and 3 days!) We are doing well, trying to enjoy the time we have left of Parker being on the inside ;) Though things are getting more awkward by the day! There is almost constant swelling in my ankles, feet and hands, it is very difficult rolling in and out of bed, I'm going to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes, sometimes more if he is sitting just right ;) But, when he moves around, shakes his little bottom and trys getting comfy, I know it is all worth it, yes, even the stretch marks! He doesn't exactly have the most comfortable life right now, either, as the "walls" are closing in a little more each day! So, we are managing it together! Matt is now able to watch him move around and can either excite him or calm him with a touch. It is very exciting to think that in 5 1/2 weeks or so we will be able to hold him in our arms and cuddle him! We are both ecstatic and overwhelmed by the responsibility of parenthood! Praying daily that God will bless our little Parker with good health and a smooth transition into the world and also bless us by giving us all the tools we will need to be as good of parents as possible to him. What an Awesome God we have.

32 Weeks

2009-07-31T19:29:00.000-07:00

I am officially 32 weeks pregnant tomorrow! Very exciting stuff. We had a Dr appointment today, which are every 2 weeks now, and she said that everything is looking really good. My weight gain is right on schedule, Parker's heart beat is strong, pretty much all around good! She said that I am measuring a "tad" big but that is no indication that I will be early, that it is too soon to guess at that kind of a thing. She also said that while I was at the appointment he was in the head down position. It is early enough that that can still change day to day but by the last month he should be in that position to stay. So, I guess we just wait and find out whatever we can at each appointment!

You would not believe how hot it is here! It has been between 89 and 103 degrees the past week or so, and humid to boot! Not what we are used to in the Seattle area, that is for sure! We have been so grateful for our window air conditioning unit! I honestly don't know what I'd be doing without it... probably spending a LOT of time at Mark and Elaine's house (they have central air)!!!

The heat has also been making me swell up like a balloon. Ok, maybe it is not that bad, but my ankles, feet and hands have been fairly swollen for a couple weeks now. I am also learning to live (and trying to sleep) with the growing discomfort of Parker's ever-increasing size! It is SO exciting to know that he is thriving and to feel him move around, but at the same time, it is a lot more uncomfortable when he moves now than it was at first ;) And he hasn't exactly slowed down the pace even with his quarters getting tighter... in fact it has ramped up a bit, I've got one active boy on my hands!

Now that all the baby showers are over we have taken to the task of figuring out everything that we need to go shopping for, looking for the stores with the lowest prices and buying things as we can. It is sure fun to see his room coming together a little more every time we bring something else home! Our Stroller and car seat should be shipped out next week and we should have it in about 2 weeks, so we are looking forward to getting that and getting used to how it works. Tomorrow we are going to go check out a glider rocking chair that we found on Craigslist. Then we'll just keep working our way through the list of necessities!

On a different note, Matt's job is going really well! In fact he has been getting some overtime due to all the projects that he is working on that have upcoming due dates. So, there is no lack of work there and he is being put to good use! Luckily for us he has been able to put in some of his overtime hours in from home. So, at least we can be around each other, even if he is working :)

Well, I thinks that is all for now :) Hopefully you are all having fun-filled summers and enjoying good weather! God bless!!

29 Weeks and 4 Days

2009-07-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, I am officially 30 weeks pregnant! Only 10 weeks to go!!! We are getting very excited and a little nervous, but mostly can't wait to hold Parker in our arms and see his little face. Such a miracle. It is amazing how much we love him already.

These days I am feeling a lot more uncomfortable! Lots of trouble sleeping at night, swelling in my feet, lower legs and hands, a ferocious appetite, many small aches and pains... all very normal things :) Parker's movements are also starting to change. They are getting to be big movements that ripple my whole belly, rather than the distinct kicks and punches of before. Weighing in at over 3 pounds, he is also taking up more space and leaving less room for things like my bladder and lungs, which have rather obvious results ;) In the end it is all more than worth it, but right now, I am moving pretty slowly and not getting too much done!

We started our Labor and Delivery class this past week. It is every Thursday night from 7-9 for 5 weeks. It looks like it will be very informative and serve the purpose of educating us and helping us feel more prepared for what is to come. They sure didn't ease us into it though! The firsrt night there was a pretty intense labor video. I decided I would just skip the whole delivery part and got straight from being pregnant to holding a baby in my arms with nothing in between!! Yeah, right!

Anyway, as for the other parts of our lives, they are going quite well. Matt's kickball team is doing very well and will be in the play-off's next weekend. His job is going well and he is enjoying the new company and his co-workers. They will be merging with another company, they are a european company and it sounds like it will be a good thing. Matt's job is still secure, the only thing really effecting him right away will be a change in benefits, but it is all the same or better than what we have now, so not a big deal :)

I have been working a bit more the past couple of weeks, getting more hours (only about 1/2 - 1 day more a week) but, every little bit helps! I have also been cleaning and organizing trying to get everything in order for Parker's arrival and visiting family :) Other than that, I am pretty much moving at snails pace and don't get a whole lot done! Looking forward to the coming months and enjoying the beautiful weather while it lasts :)

A Little Project

2009-07-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

In my free time this past week I have been slowly working on a fun little project. I got these wooden letters and used some scrapbooking paper to make them fun. All I did was glue the paper to the letters, cut off the excess with an exacto knife, sand the edges smooth and then seal. It was pretty easy and a fun little distraction :) Now I have a cute little decoration for Parker's room!

27 Weeks and 3 Days

2009-07-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

By this Saturday I will officially be in my 3rd tri-mester of pregnancy!! The 2nd has felt quite long. I have a feeling, though that the next few months will feel even longer while experiencing the growing discomforts of this stage and waiting for Parker's arrival!

Parker is doing well, by this time in pregnancy, he has developed a regular sleep and awake cycle. Which is normal. Thankfully it is not too off from mine. He tends to fall asleep around midnight and I usually notice him being awake around 9am. He also sleeps on and off throughout the day. I have also started to feel him hiccuping! It is a weird rhythmic sensation. Apparently it is normal for this to happen a lot in the third tri-mester when his lungs are becoming fully developed and he is taking practice breathes and swallowing amniotic fluid. Boy am I excited to meet our little man!

Last weekend we were in Spokane for our family shower. Man, it was a great weekend. I can't even tell you how great it was to see both of my parents! I feel so blessed that they were able to make it and could see me pregnant and feel Parker kicking. It was also great to see all the extended family and the shower that Courtney put together was perfect! It was a lot of fun. I was also so excited about the selection of food that Grandma prepared! I have really been loving my fruits and veggies lately, so that was great! We got a lot of great clothes, some blankets, burp cloths, teething rings, a bath toy/sponge, boppy pillow, baby monitor and even an exercaucer! It was just a really good weekend all around. Friday evening was spent with Mom's side of the family, relaxing at Grandma and Grandpa's house, playing Bocce ball in the backyard, and just spending time together. Then , Saturday afternoon was the shower and after that we spent the evening with Dad's side of the family, eating, playing cards and chatting. Sunday we went to Matt's cousin, Melissa's, house for breakfast. She made us buiscuits and gravy and we had a good time chatting and spent a little time on her porch swing. Then, it was a meal fit for royalty at G&G Rima's and off we were, back home. The traffic was not so great, stop and go now and then. We also had a major slow down because of a trailer full of hay that spontaniuosly combusted while on the highway! It was crazy!!

Anyway, now we are home, and enjoying a few days of quiet evenings together. The month of June just flew by with all its business and I have a feeling July might be the same way! We are feeling very blessed as we enjoy this pregnancy and prepare ourselves and our place for a new baby!!

It's Kickball Time!

2009-06-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

So, I believe I have already mentioned the fact that Matt is in a kickball league this summer. He is on a team along with the rest of our lifegroup from church. Minus Heather and I, since we are pregnant :) Anyway, this past Sunday was their 4th game, I believe, so it is in full swing and going really well. They have won 3 of the games, 2 of them they pretty much kicked butt ;) Anyway, I am enjoying the Sunday afternoons in the sun watching them all run around in pink shirts and tiny shorts, well the guys are all in tiny shorts anyways! It is a lot of fun and we are all looking forward to the rest of the season. I thought I would just share a few pictures with you from our last game. Enjoy!

24 Weeks and 2 Days

2009-06-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I am now 24 weeks into pregnancy! It really is going by quickly. It is hard to believe. I almost want it to slow down a little... but not really!!! I want to meet this little man :) As you can see, I am getting bigger all the time. The baby is close to fully developed. Just a few things still being worked on, like the lungs. He has begun the process of putting on baby fat, now. So, he is getting bigger and stronger all the time. Which, I can tell by the intensity of his movements ;) It is fun, feeling him move and having an idea of what is going on in there, though at times, I wish he would settle down a bit, like when I'm trying to sleep and he wants to dance! The bathroom seems to be my closest friend right now... we are constantly visiting ;) I have also started having braxton hicks contractions already! Which, the doctor said is fine, so long as they are not too frequent. Other than that, there is not a whole lot of new news. Just keep praying for Parker's health and development and for my health as well, as the summer months come on and things get more difficult all around :)

Getting Stuff Done

2009-06-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

We have been getting a lot of stuff done these days!! Every room except for the baby's room is totally done. I just want to say WAHOOOO!!! It is such a relief! There are still small things to be done, like clear some clutter away and finish the decorating, but for the most part...DONE!

We also have a bunch of stuff piled up in the baby's room that needs to be donated or sold. Today I put our futon on Craigslist and by 2:30 someone came and picked it up! So, that clears up a bunch of space in the room and puts $50 in our pockets. So, that was excellemt :) We also just bought a new coffee table! We have had our eyes on it, for a couple months now. We didn't have the money when we first saw it on sale and then the price went back up and we decided to wait and see if it would go on sale again. Then we walked by it in the store the other day and it was half off and only 1 left on the shelf! So, we grabbed it and brought it home :) We really like it!

As for the other areas of our lives (the whole unpacking one has been pretty pervasive as of late!)... This month is looking to be a very busy one. We have things scheduled almost every weekend already! Mostly Family stuff. Dan and Celeste (Matt's sister and her husband) are both graduating this month and Dan is having a birthday, so we are looking forward to celebrating with them. Then, my friend, Christina, is going to help me with a sewing project one weekend! We are going to make some new padding and slip covers for the cradle that we got handed down to us. Just something to match more with our color scheme :) So, that will be good to get done! God bless her for helping the sewing challenged!! Then, at the end of the month we have our Spokane baby shower! I am super pumped about that. Both my parents are going to be there and that is just so exciting for me!!! I am really looking forward to being able to be with them for a weekend and for them to see me with my baby belly and be able to feel Parker kicking :)

In other news, Matt has joined a kickball league! It is starting up this Sunday and we are thinking it will be a lot of fun! He has been itching for more activity and unfortunately I am not in the best position to join him right now. So, i am glad that he has found other people to enjoy more activity with. A few other people from our lifegroup are joining as well and I will be cheering from the sidelines. Maybe it will be an opportunity to get to know other people and also further deepen relationships we already have.

Oh, yeah, and the picture here is what I see when I look down... SO BIG!! So round! This picture is at 23 weeks and it is hard to picture myself sitting there with an even bigger midsection!

Well, I think that is all for now, I have much cleaning to get back to! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!!

22 Weeks

2009-05-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here's the new update! Yay!!! I am officially past the halfway point and that is super exciting for me. I am also in the last week of my 5th month soon to be starting the sixth month! I can't wait to meet this little guy! On the other hand, I can wait, cause there is still so much to do before he arrives, for him and us :) As of late I have been feeling a LOT more movement. He usually is pretty quiet most of the morning and afternoon and then around 4 he starts to get a lot more active for the rest of the evening. We have an active little one, that is for sure! It is very cool that Matt can now feel his movements too, provided he is in the right place at the right time.

I am experiencing a few new pregnancy symptoms, such as swollen feet! I have more energy than in the past, though I am definitely more limited than normal in my activities and energy levels. I do have my moments of weepy-ness and irritability, much more so than normal but not as constant as in the first trimester. God bless my husband for putting up with me, I love that man.

As for Parker himself, he is developing his senses, he can taste what i eat through the amniotic fluid, he can here voices, loud music, loud movies, see light if shined on my belly, he is also practicing his grip and his sucking reflex.

We have gotten our registries pretty much solidified, so that is one thing we can mark of the to do list. We are registered at Babies R Us and Target. Also, I have done my part in the baby Shower invitations. Another check! We are actually having 3 Baby Showers. A little insane, but I really wanted them to be semi intimate so that I could see and talk with everyone there. So, rather than having one HUGE gathering, we just split it up as follows: June 27th Family baby shower in Spokane (co-ed), July 11th friends baby shower here (women only), July 25th local family and family friends shower (women only). My cousin Courtney is organizing the first one in Spokane, My friend Christina is doing the friends one and Celeste, my sister-in-law, is doing the one on the 25th :) I'm so excited for the opportunity to see all of our family in the Spokane area whom we don't see nearly enough! Also that my Mommy will be at that one!!!!! Wohoo!! Anyways, there are still a lot of things to check off that list, but it feels really good to at least have started knocking a few things off of it :)

19 Weeks

2009-05-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, I took this picture for an update a couple weeks ago and then forgot to put it up!! Oops :) So, here it is. This is me at 19 weeks. There was not too much change between this one and the almost 17 week picture. Just a little more rounding out. At this point I was just beginning to feel the kicks and movements of the baby. We had not yet found out what the sex was at this point and were so anxious to! We were preparing to move and had a lot on our plates, hence the forgetting to update! Well, at least I got it up here before the next one! I have been trying to do these little updates every 2-4 weeks for those of you who want to keep up with the belly growth and can't be here to see it yourselves. I think the one thing i really wish is that my immediate family could be around to see it in person and to feel the baby moving. But, I guess we will have to satisfy ourselves with phone conversations and pictures. At least they will be here when Parker arrives! Or shortly there after :) Love you guys and miss you!!!! Well, now that this is up there should be another update soon with more current details and ramblings! Until then...

Pictures of Parker

2009-05-19T09:51:00.001-07:00

These are the 20 week ultrasound pictures. I could not figure out how to turn them sideways, so sorry if they are hard to look at! He still seems to be doing well. He tends to sleep in the mornings when I am walking around and busy and wake up in the evenings for his dance parties :) I feel him move so much already, I think he is going to be an active little guy! We'll see...

We are making progress in the new apartment! It is still a mess, but a lot of things are in their places, too. We bought some book shelves the other day, that has helped me with getting all of the books unpacked and in their places. The kitchen, dining room, bedroom and bathroom are all done, save for a few minor things. Still not decorated, but, that will be last on my list :) So, Mainly all I have left to unpack is the living room, the baby's room, and find a place for all of our camping gear and outdoor storage stuff. That will all, most likely, be put into our huge closet in our bedroom. Then we have a trip to the thrift store to drop a bunch of stuff off and we should be in good shape!! So, it is coming along. Not as quickly as in the past, but I am coming to terms with my limitations. I experienced swollen feet for the first time yesterday and realized I had barely sat down all day. So, I will focus on taking breaks periodically and putting my feet up in order to try to avoid that as much as possible. Although, from what I hear it is just to be expected to a certain degree.

Matt is enjoying his job. He is busy everyday and thankful for the work! He will have memorial day off, and that should be fun! It is supposed to be a beautiful weekend. Matt also got some overtime in already! There was a deadline that needed to be met for a big client of theirs so the whole office stayed until it was done last Friday. He was at work for 14 hours that day! But, they got it done and the overtime pay will be nice ;) He was told that probably about once a month there will be a day when he will get overtime.

Anyways, I think that is all the updates from the past couple of weeks. Now I will be focusing on finishing the house and getting baby shower invitations out! I pray that you all have a blessed week.

It's a Boy!!!!!

2009-05-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

This past Monday was our 20 week ultrasound. It's a boy!!!! Parker Ellis Flint is the name we have chosen for him. I just love being able to refer to him as a boy and use his name. The ultrasound was a lot of fun! It was so cool to feel him moving and be able to see what he was doing at the same time! And boy was he moving!! He was very active, flipping around constantly, it was hard for the ultrasound tech to get good pictures because he would move as soon as she went to take it. But, we did get some good pictures :) They looked at all his little organs and body parts and they are all there and looking good. It is hard to tell in black and white, but I think he looks adorable ;) But then, I'm a little biased.

Anyway, I will post the ultrasound pictures and possibly the video soon. We won't have internet at our new apartment until next monday. Right now I am using Matt's work computer. The move went pretty quickly, we had lots of help and got it done in just 3-4 hours! Thanks to all of you that helped, we really appreciate it! Now I am focusing on unpacking. I am getting things done slowly but surely. It is a little frustrating living in such a mess, but it is a process and it won't be like this forever!! Please pray that it gets done quickly and that my energy level stays up to help me accomplish that.

More to come :)

A Big Week

2009-05-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

A lot of big things are happening for us in the next 10 days! Tomorrow we are going to a school play that a few of the kids from youth group are in. That's not big, but it should be fun and a good distraction for us.

Then, Monday Matt starts his new job at 8am!! He is excited to be employed again and looking forward to challenging himself in this new company. The whole week will mostly be filled with online training and introduction stuff, so not too hard, but hopefully he can start making some meaningful connections with his co-workers.

Then on Thursday we will be signing the lease for our new place, doing the walk-thru and getting our keys!! On Saturday we will be moving!!! Hopefully we will have plenty of gracious helpers, because I doubt I will be too much help this time around :)

Then a Sunday full of unpacking and on Monday we have our Ultrasound and OB appointment, the one where we get the big news, boy or girl?!?!

So, we are giddy with anticipation and trying to store up as much energy as possible for all of the coming events! Please pray that all of these things go smoothly and for the health of the little one growing inside me.
Blessings!