December 5, 2007

Even though I'm in the midst of a healthy pregnancy and am so blessed and thankful for that, I still feel that today I need to reflect on what happened a year ago that changed my life so dramatically. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer wrote a post that sums up my thoughts pretty well...you can go read it here.

Glory Baby by Watermark
Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby…baby..
You were growing, what happened dear?
You disappeared on us baby…baby..
Heaven will hold you before we do
Heaven will keep you safe until we’re home with you…
Until we’re home with you…

Miss you everyday
Miss you in every way
But we know there’s a
day when we will hold you
We will hold you
You’ll kiss our tears away
When we’re home to stay
Can’t wait for the day when we will see you
We will see you
But baby let sweet Jesus hold you
‘till mom and dad can hold you…
You’ll just have heaven before we do
You’ll just have heaven before we do

Sweet little babies, it’s hard to
understand it ‘cause we’re hurting
We are hurting
But there is healing
And we know we’re stronger people through the growing
And in knowing-
That all things work together for our good
And God works His purposes just like He said He would…
Just like He said He would…

BRIDGE:
I can’t imagine heaven’s lullabies
and what they must sound like
But I will rest in knowing, heaven is your home
And it’s all you’ll ever know…all you’ll ever know…

Miss you and love you sweet baby...

S N O W

Finally, we've gotten our first snowfall of the season.


It is so beautiful and really makes it feel like Christmas!

The ideal schedule for a day like this
Stay home
Bake cookies and yummy candies in preparation for Christmas
Listen to Christmas music all day
Snuggle up under a blanket with a good book
Take a cozy nap with the kitty


My schedule for today
Get to work early in hopes of finding a decent parking spot
Keep from falling on the ice as I make my way to and from the office
Farewell lunch with a coworker
Train new employee
Try to beat evening rush hour traffic when coming home
Final Financial Peace University class at church tonight

A girl can dream, can't she?

You got to move it, move it

Yesterday I posted about our Thanksgiving weekend, but I left out one minor detail. I mentioned that on Thursday the baby had a little dance party and it was awesome. But what I left out is that for the next 5 days I barely felt any movement at all. I'd feel it every now and again but it didn't seem like nearly as much as I'd felt before. I sort of started to wonder if I was just imagining the little bit of movement I was feeling because it felt so sparse! Monday night I decided to really try and get some movement so I had a bowl of raspberry sherbet and then intentionally sat really still and spent some time on my left side - nothing. Tuesday morning I tried some caffeine, but unfortunately I had some errands to take care of that I couldn't really put off, so I didn't get to spend time resting to see if the caffeine prompted any movement. About 2 hours later I returned home and did have some time to lay down, but even then I barely felt a thing.

By the time I left to get lunch and head to work I was a wreck. Some days I just don't feel emotionally stable enough to become a mother! I called my mom in tears and we talked about things for a little bit and then she told me that I needed to call the doctor as they were the best people to reassure me. So I did and when I connected with the nurse she explained that fetal movement is very sporadic before 28 weeks which is why they tell you not to track it. However, she did offer to let me come in and hear the heartbeat if I thought it'd help. That afternoon I did feel a little more kicking but I still went in to hear the heart and of course everything was fine. Baby's heartbeat was strong and in the 150s and the midwife found it right away which always makes me feel better.

The funniest part about this, which I knew would happen, is what baby started doing not 15 minutes after I'd left the doctor's office. Yep, you guessed it - moving, moving, moving. I felt lots of flutters and kicks as I prepared dinner, wrote my blog post, and all throughout dinner and for the rest of the evening. Oh well - such is life I guess. And at least we know baby has a sense of humor!



(photo compliments of http://www.madagascar-themovie.com/)

Back to life, back to reality...

I can't believe it has taken me until Tuesday night to write a recap of our Thanksgiving weekend! Our weekend was so good, but its always hard to kiss A goodbye for another work week after we've had a few days of relaxed, holiday schedule. It does make me very excited for Christmas when he's off for 12 days though!

Thanksgiving morning I made a batch of pumpkin dinner rolls to take to my in-laws house for dinner. I'm pleased to report that the rolls worked and were very, very yummy! Oh, I should also mention that A brought the TV from our office down to the kitchen for me so that I could watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade while I worked on the rolls. He knows that watching the parade is a tradition for me and it was so sweet of him to put in some extra effort to ensure I could enjoy it this year as well. We went to my in-laws at 11:30 and I worked in the kitchen with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law and peeled and diced potatoes for the mashed potatoes. Dinner all came together about 12:30 and it was delicious!! One of the weirdest things about pregnancy is that food either tastes REALLY good or REALLY gross to me. I'm so thankful that Thanksgiving fell into the first category - otherwise I would have been one hungry (and disappointed) girl!

We took some family pictures for their Christmas letter and then pretty much just hung out the rest of the day, which was awesome. Baby had a party in my tummy which was so fun to feel! I don't think I've felt it move that much so far and it was just too cool. I couldn't help but laugh - partially because it felt kind of like tickling and partially because I was just so happy to feel it moving so much. During the afternoon we also pulled out my husband's baby book and saw pictures of him as a newborn and read all about the first days of his life. I loved it so much!

Friday we SLEPT IN - no Black Friday sales for us. Actually, that's not totally true as A and I did head out at 11:00 to hit up one store each but we were back home and having lunch by 1:00pm so this was not a big shopping excursion or anything. We started on Christmas decorations on Friday and rented "The Incredible Hulk" that evening.

Saturday I made another batch of pumpkin rolls to take to a gathering of some of A's extended family. We arrived at that gathering just in time for lunch and then spent the afternoon hanging out with the family and playing games. I do a lot of sitting at these things because my feet get so incredibly achy throughout the day - and I'm still usually worn out by the end of the event! We picked up sandwiches for dinner on our way home and ate while watching "White Christmas" on Lifetime followed by another Christmas movie on Hallmark Channel. Have I mentioned how much I love Christmas movies? :)


Sunday we went to church and then attended our last family get-together for the weekend for Sunday lunch. We just went to Jason's Deli, but by that point I sort of wondered why I was still eating because I was just so stuffed from all the food throughout the weekend! Seems like most of what we did was sit around and eat! Sunday afternoon we finally burned off some of that food by finishing up our Christmas decorations. I'm going to wait until BooMama's tour of homes to show our Christmas decor, so I won't be posting any pics right now.


I didn't put everything up this year since I tire out more easily and the idea of completely overhauling our house was too overwhelming for me - but what we did put up is festive and looks pretty so I'm happy with it.

Yesterday I spent the day getting caught up from the crazy weekend and did a little resting in there too - the weekend wore me out! Today I did more stuff around home and then this afternoon I went to work to start training the new staff member! I only worked with her for a few hours but hopefully it's helping her to get acquainted with the job. I'll go in again on Thursday afternoon and then we'll see where she's at. Pray that I am a good teacher and that she catches on quickly!

So Much to be Thankful For

We have been on a roller coaster ride since this time last year, but through it all God has proved faithful and GOOD. I love Matthew 7:11 which reminds us what a loving and giving Father we have:

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

During this year I have been higher than I ever thought possible and lower than I knew a person could go. We announced our first pregnancy to our extended family at Thanksgiving last year, only to find out two weeks later that we'd suffered a miscarriage. In the new year we hoped month after month while God told us to wait on a family. We have been blessed with a new car, a promotion for A in a stable job during this very uncertain time in our economy, and an unexpected job for me. We have learned valuable lessons about our marriage and our finances through two classes at church this year. I am so thankful for my husband, our miscarriage, waiting on God, our home, our sweet kitty, our families, our church, our friends, our jobs (yes, even mine), and our second pregnancy which is progressing well. I am thankful for bloggers who take the time to let me peek into their lives and experience their joys and sorrows along with them, and I am thankful for everyone who takes a moment out of their day to see what's going on in my life. I wish each of you so much joy and a full, grateful heart this Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 1 Chronicles 16:8

Ultrasound Update

Just wanted to hop online and let you know that the ultrasound went well this morning. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Baby didn't cooperate quite like I hoped, but I suppose I should start getting used to the idea that I can't make it do what I want. Baby is tucked back pretty far so when I lay down on the ultrasound table it's at the "bottom of the pool" as the ultrasound tech likes to say which makes it a little harder to see. It's also facing my back so we got to see lots of images of the spine but not so many of its face today. Anyway, we tried a few different things and I think she was pleased with the heart images she was able to get by the end of it and said that the heart looks healthy. The doctors office was pretty slow so she also took a look at the baby overall and reaffirmed that everything is looking good. Thank the Lord!

Here's a profile shot from this morning...


That's a pretty big cranium this kid is sporting! :) Ultrasound pictures are so weird, but since I can't look inside and see what's going on, I'll take whatever imaging technology is available!

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16

Cranberry Fruit Conserve, Pumpkin Dinner Rolls & A Prayer Request

Apparently this is now Laura's recipe blog since that's what I seem to be posting right now. With Thanksgiving on Thursday, I guess food is big on my mind these days (not to mention that I seem to be eternally hungry thanks to a growing baby!). Today I made Cranberry Fruit Conserve. I don't really know what a conserve is in the food sense, but I use this recipe as cranberry sauce. I'd never made cranberry sauce until I hosted Thanksgiving dinner two years ago, was on the hunt for recipes and saw this on Barefoot Contessa. It looked simple enough and tasty so I decided to give it a try and I loved it! It's definitely tart but has sweetness in the background that makes it so good. Now I make it every year whether I'm hosting Thanksgiving or not.


Cranberry Fruit Conserve

Ingredients
* 1 (12-ounce) bag of fresh cranberries, rinsed in cold water
* 1 3/4 cups sugar
* 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
* 1 orange, zest grated and juiced
* 1 lemon, zest grated and juiced
* 3/4 cup raisins, optional (I omit these)
* 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional (I omit these, too)

Directions
Cook the cranberries, sugar, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the skins pop open. Add the apple, zests, and juices and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove from the heat and add the raisins and nuts, if desired. Let cool, and serve chilled. (photo compliments of foodnetwork.com)

My mother-in-law is hosting Thanksgiving this year and I am taking rolls and an apple pie. I already have the apple pie ready to bake off which I'll do tomorrow and I'm going to try a new recipe for the rolls. I seem to really be in the mood for pumpkin and I found a recipe that incorporates pumpkin into homemade rolls...


Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2 cup warm milk
¼ cup butter, softened or melted
2 cup mashed cooked pumpkin (or one can of pumpkin.)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup wheat germ (can omit and use flour instead)
10-12 cup all-purpose flour (could also use a mixture of whole-wheat and white flours)
7 teaspoons dry yeast

In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, water, milk, butter, pumpkin, and salt. Mix well. Add wheat germ, 7-8 cups of the flour, and yeast. Mix, and then continue adding flour and kneading until dough is elastic and not sticky.

Place dough in greased bowl; grease top of dough, cover with a towel, and set in a warm place until doubled (about 1 hour). Punch dough down and divide into thirds. Divide each third into 16 pieces and shape into balls.

Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, until tops are golden. Brush with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven. (Note: These rolls usually look somewhat dry when first coming out of the oven. Wait about 15 minutes and they will look and taste beautiful.)

Yield: 4 dozen rolls
(photo and recipe courtesy of moneysavingmom.com)

I'm going to halve the recipe, since we're not having a large crowd for Thanksgiving and I've heard that these rolls are best when fresh.

And finally, I am having an ultrasound tomorrow morning to look at our baby's heart. The doctors don't think there is anything wrong with it but because of the baby's position during our last ultrasound they couldn't get as detailed of a look at it as they'd like (we did get to see the 4 chambers and see the heart beating so we know that much is fine). So it'll be a short ultrasound but I'd appreciate your prayers for it. Please pray that the heart is strong and healthy and that baby cooperates for the ultrasound...thanks so much!