Little Danny Bob...

My little guy has a cold right now. He is still as chipper as ever but he has a little cough. My mom watched him yesterday morning while I was at work and these are a couple pictures that were taken.

This week's baking...

I decided to try my hand at baking homemade bread this week. I want to see if I can save money by baking my own healthy bread instead of buying the healthy stuff at the store for $4-$5 a loaf. I used whole wheat flour, dark rye, a little bit of bran, oatmeal and sunflower seeds. I used about 2 tablespoons of honey to sweeten the bread. My house smelled absolutely wonderful while this bread was baking! Ruh loves it and that's good since this bread will be used for his work sandwiches. I put one loaf in the freezer and stored the other one in the fridge to slice as needed.



I also made homemade energy bars. Ruh and I went snowshoeing this week and I wanted to make something that would give us energy. I have made cookies before when we have gone hiking and all they tend to do is cause a sugar high and then CRASH afterward which is the worse thing to have when you are out on a long hike. These bars have oatmeal, whole wheat flour, Grapenuts cereal, a little bit of bran, applsauce, an egg, 2 tablespoons each of honey and brown sugar, walnuts, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, cinnamon and 60% cocoa chocolate chips. I cut them into bars. These were perfect when we were snowshoeing for a little pick-me-up. I am definitely going to make these for our camping and hiking trips this spring and summer. These taste so much better than granola bars you buy at the store. They are nice and chewy which is what I like.

Just cute...

I took these pictures about a month ago but never posted them. They are just cute.

My boys...


Ruh buried Daniel in some laundry and Daniel chilled there for a little while.

A delightful day...

My brother-in-law Rahmat came over last night for an evening of video games with Ruh. He spent the night and was still in bed this morning when I got back from work. So Ruh took Daniel in to wake Uncle Rahmat. Ruh put him on Rahmat's chest and Daniel smiled at first. Then he started looking at Rahmat very suspiciously like he wasn't quite sure about him. It didn't take too long after that for Daniel to lose it and start crying hysterically until I took him. I should have taken a picture of that moment, it was kind of cute. They reconciled later on.


Later that afternoon we took Rahmat back over to Tacoma and went and picked my mother-in-law Bonita up to go walk the Chamber's Creek Trail. I made sure Daniel was bundled up nice and warm since it was pretty chilly today. Bonita and I were walking and talking while Ruh walked the dog. At one point I checked on Daniel and his hat had fallen down over his face and he was doing his best to suck his thumb. I have no idea how long he had been like this because he didn't even whine or protest that his hat was over his face! I had to take a picture, of course! Shortly after that he fell asleep and enjoyed a nice little nap while we were walking.

We had worked up an appetite during our walk so we went back over to Bonita's and she had made some scrumptious soup beforehand that we all enjoyed. We sat, ate and visited. After we said goodbye to Bonita we headed over to REI to pick up the baby backpack that had arrived. I can't wait to use it!

It was just one of those lovely, spontanious days and I can't wait for our next one!

Seeking things above...

I wanted to share an excerpt from one of my favorite blogs in the whole world, Groundwork for Grace. It is about what it actually means to SEEK things above.

"Therefore if you have been raised with Christ,

keep seeking the things above,

where Christ is,

seated at the right hand of God."

Colossians 3:1

"By seeking the things above, there is also an implication of effort. Seeking doesn't mean that you walk in the kitchen and see your keys and say, "Oh, I found my keys!" Seeking means that you pull up the couch cushions, check the bathrooms, dig through your purse and find your keys on the front hall table. Then you can truly say that you found them. If we are seeking the things above, we are putting in effort to learn God's ways, His thoughts and His Word." ~Groundwork for Grace

What a great idea...

I was browsing through crafting blogs and I came across a very cool idea (dollarstorecrafts.com) on how to repurpose old t-shirts you don't want anymore. You cut them into strips to make "yarn" and then you crochet or knit them into dish cloths! I know Ruh has quite a few old t-shirts and I'm sure I can dig out a few of my own too. I am definitely going to try this! I will let you know how it goes!

Praying for Haiti...

I don't know this man's name but he is a pastor in Haiti. My mom's friend's husband was just in Haiti and he met this man. He lost his wife in the earthquake. He told Churches Helping Churches that he wants help so he can continue telling the people of Haiti about Jesus Christ. He has four children. I am praying for this man and for all of Haiti.

I have put a link on my sidebar for Churches Helping Churches.

Out for the count...

I woke up this morning with a massive migraine. It quickly got worse and worse until I was not able to function. Daniel cuddled with me on the couch until it was time for his morning nap. He was such a good little boy while Mama was sick. Once he was down for his nap I was pretty much comatose on the couch. Ruh got up shortly after and new right away I was in misery. He took charge and I didn't even have to ask him to get Daniel up when he woke up from his nap. He even changed a poopy diaper which is usually instantly passed to me! I got in a hot shower a couple times to try and dull the pain. Before Ruh went to work at 2:30 I called my mom and asked her to come over. The migraine had peaked at this point and there was no way I could make it without help. Daniel was down for his afternoon nap. She came over to wait for him to wake up while I stayed in bed. I woke up around 4pm and mom was getting Daniel up. I felt much better and could feel the migraine slowly going away. I usually only get an extremely bad migraine like this every 3 months or so. So hopefully I'm good for a while!

I am very grateful for my hubby and my mom. This migraine was a doozy and it would have been very difficult without their help. I am very blessed.

Daniel also had a second tooth pop in over night! He now has two little teeth on the bottom. I noticed yesterday that when he would chew on something he was very focused.

Here are a couple cute things I found yesterday online. Crobots! Crocheted robots! I thought this was too cute. Daniel might enjoy a crobot.
Here are Baby Bubble Pants! (Click the link to see them) I love the blog Sew Liberated and she made these little pants for her little guy. I definitely want to make these for Daniel. The elastic waist band and the rolled up cuffs make them growable with baby. Love it!

My little guy turned 7 months old on the 12th! Sometimes I feel like I was just pregnant and sometimes I feel like he has always been here. I noticed one day I was thinking about our old apartment and I subconsciously added Daniel into the memory and I realized, wait a minute, he wasn't even born yet!


He also had his first tooth pop in! Sweet little guy, he didn't even act like he was teething so it was a complete surprise. He has been eating solid food since he was about 5 1/2 months and the past couple of weeks I have been trying to expand the variety of foods he is eating. I discovered he LOVES baked, pureed sweet potatoes and also discovered that he HATES broccoli and carrots. I read that avocados are so good for babies because of all the good fats in them and so I tried to mash one up and give it to him and he wasn't too fond of that either. So I tried mixing the mashed avocado in to some of the sweet potatoes and he gobbled it up! I tried this with the mashed broccoli and carrots and what do you know, he gobbled them up too! I want him to have good nutrition and even if I have to be sneaky about it he's going to eat his veggies! He loves applesauce, bananas, pears and blueberries so I have no problem getting him to eat fruit.

As you can see from the picture he sits up pretty good when you prop him on the couch or with a Boppy pillow on the floor. But of course he is still a bit top heavy when you try to sit him up by himself.

Ruh, Daniel and I went to REI in Tacoma this week to look at baby backpacks for carrying Daniel on our hikes. They only had a couple and they were $250! Way too much money! So we spent some time browsing and I picked up the new runner's pack I ordered online and had sent to the store to save on shipping. Ruh pointed out that we still had to pay for the gas and the toll to cross the bridge so I will rethink that next time. But it gave us an excuse to go to REI which I love doing. I am very excited for my runner's pack as I will start running outside very soon. I am training to run a 5K and the treadmill is getting pretty tedious. I have heard my sis-in-law (who has run TWO marathons by the way) call it the "dreadmill" and I am finding out why. I am very excited about running and I am feeling so good! I have been dieting and running for a couple months now and I have lost 24 pounds! I have lost all of the baby weight and I am back into my pre-pregnancy clothes. I still have a lot to lose but it doesn't seem as daunting now that I have figured out how to lose weight and do it smart.

I did end up buying a baby backpack and I bought it online at REI.com, on sale, for $155 (originally $200). I spent a good chunk of time searching and reading reviews until I decided on the Sherpani Rumba Child Carrier. Thanks to mom and dad for the $100 in REI gift cards for Christmas which helped us to buy it! I can't wait for our first hike! Time for squats and lunges to prep my legs.

I also received my first delivery of organic veggies from Wildy Organic. I will be receiving a bin of organic veggies every other week. It was so much fun opening up my bin and discovering all the healthy goodies inside. I received chioggia beets that are white and pink striped, green onions, mushrooms, broccoli, easter egg radishes that are white, pink, and purple, 2 extra large Hass avocados, red leaf lettuce, salad mix, celery, an acorn squash, garlic, zucchini, cucumber and tomatoes. I've decided I am going to dehydrate the tomatoes to make "sun" dried tomatoes to add to soups and I am still trying to decide what to do with the acorn squash. I am thinking I can roast it, puree it and put it in a soup or use it for Daniel's baby food. We have been like rabbits eating all the salad and radishes.

As I was happily looking over my produce my mind went to all the people in Haiti who would love to have all this produce right now. It humbled me and I prayed right then and thanked the Lord for providing my family with healthy food. I also prayed for Haiti and even though it didn't seem like much I gave a donation to World Vision. I would love to do more and I have a huge box full of Daisy's and my old clothes that I was just going to take to the Goodwill. I would like to send them to Haiti but I don't know how. If anyone knows of people who are going over there or of an organization who is taking clothing donations to send please let me know. I am going to search for one but I want to make sure they are reputable and honest. Also my mom just put up a post about a new ministry called Churches Helping Churches. Her friends husband is working with them. They will be working specifically with churches helping fellow believers who are in need in Haiti.

Lookie what my hubby got me!

I wrote a post back in May about this little gadget I saw on Paula Deen. A couple days ago I woke up to go to work and there was a little wrapped package for me. I opened it and this little guy (an egg separator) was inside! I giggled with delight! Gross yes, but fun. My hubby is too cute!

How We Glorify God...

"They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters..." Jeremiah 2:13

"[In Jeremiah 2:13] God pictures Himself as a mountain spring of clean, cool, life-giving water. The way to glorify a fountain like this is to enjoy the water, and praise the water, and keep coming back to the water, and point other people to the water, and get strength for love from the water, and never, never, never prefer any drink in the world over this water. That makes the spring look valuable. That is how we glorify God, the fountain of living water." John Piper