a happy Christmas it was

there were babies dressed as mrs. claus (thanks for loaning the outfit, christa!). there were twinkling lights and rocking chairs and colorful stockings and peppermint treats. there were footie pajamas and circus tents and wrapping-paper tubes played as horns.

there were whirring toy helicopters and awestruck admirers and poinsettia casualties.







it was a very sweet day. i hope yours was, too. we celebrated Christmas with ben's family a few weekends ago. like a fool i didn't bring my camera then, so i tried to take a lot of snaps with my family yesterday. i was up very early with jane, and while she went back to sleep i sat in front of the bright Christmas tree and read about Jesus. i am so grateful for a Redeeming Christ who walked on earth in human flesh, reconciled us to God through his death, and makes all things new.


    And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
    And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”    
Revelation 21:3-5

not all of us wear pants around here

we sure do love to play. one of us likes to flip babies upside down. one of us likes to put everything in her mouth. and one of us likes to take it all in and listen to her heart sigh in happiness.





bet you can't guess who is who.

handmade holiday: hot cocoa jars

i wish i could make everyone's Christmas present, but time (and ideas) are often lacking. i did find some time to make a few handmade gifts this year, though. the first are these hot cocoa jars. they were fun and easy! i started with some mason jars i had bought this fall at the local hardware store, knowing they would come in handy for something.



i used alton brown's recipe, which includes a secret ingredient: cayenne pepper.



mix mix mix.



even making a double batch, i didn't end up with enough to fill the jars, so i added some chocolate chips and marshmallows. (thank you, pinterest, for the help!)



i decorated the jars with doilies, Christmas labels, and string. i tried to add a candy cane but it didn't look right.







my sister and i hosted a table again for our church's annual women's Christmas brunch, and we put one of these at each place setting as a favor. the rest will go to friends.

like i said, fun and easy!

sources and inspiration from here, here, and here. (see above for hot cocoa mix recipe.)

jane: four months

behind again! jane's doting aunt kristen gets on my case when i am late in posting these. :) i took these shots last week when jane was 4.5 months old.



and with lambie! she's definitely more interested in her feet these days, so this picture is rather spot on.

in the kitchen: baked oatmeal

i looooove breakfast food. my husband knows that if he wants to make me swoon he just has to take me out for a breakfast date on a saturday morning. bacon, eggs, sausage, waffles, pancakes . . . i don't discriminate. with a cup of steaming coffee and a good portion of cream i am a happy camper.

i am currently into baked oatmeal, which was introduced to me by my friend lorna beth. hers had chunks of apple in it and it was tasty tasty. i'm a huge fan of cinnamon and brown sugar, so i hunted and found a recipe from taste of home (here it is). i served it when we had some friends over for breakfast and i loved it——it is fantastic with milk poured over it, which i forgot to do when they were over (sorry, bert and beki, i know it was a touch dry). as an added bonus, it smells so delicious baking it makes my mouth water!



i fiddled with the recipe a bit by substituting applesauce for half the butter and lowering the amount of brown sugar (i've made it both ways, and i won't lie——it is definitely better with more butter and sugar, but isn't everything? :) some of us still have some baby weight to lose!). i bake up a batch of this and can heat up portions for a hot breakfast each morning. it sticks with me until lunchtime and it is so much better than packets. i have a batch in the oven now and i can't wait to dive in.

give it a try! it is delish!

into the Christmas season

good morning, friends!

i hope each of you had a truly wonderful thanksgiving. ours was filled with family, friends, and food . . . notable favorites in the last category were corn casserole and pumpkin pie. multiple pieces may or may not have been consumed.



this morning, we woke up to jane "talking" and a dusting of white snow on the ground. we are cranking up the Christmas tunes and taking it slow. i am putting together an exersaucer before tackling the Christmas decorations. :) so glad to have ben home with us!

stay warm and cozy!

grumbles vs. gratitude

a lot can happen in four months. babies grow from seven pounders to thirteen pounders (at least ours did). they sprout a little more hair, yet sport a nice bald spot in the back where it rubs off in the crib. they learn they can do more with their voices than just cry. and parents endure their child's first illness, which is probably harder on the mommies and daddies than the bambini. in our house, we have a few ailments under our belts, including pink eye. poor girl.

at four months,jane actually likes being on her tummy, grabs anything within an arm's reach (and pulls it into her mouth), and wears baby jeans like the best of 'em! the last one definitely takes the most effort. definitely.

sleep has been a tricky thing with jane. naps are short and nighttime sleep has gone backward, but these tired days keep me relying on the strength that only comes from God. as a woman in my bsf group said, "it's hard to grumble when you are grateful!"

in other news, ben kindly let me know that the nickname i have been calling jane——which i thought was a nonsense word——is actually a bad word. oh my, amy. glad i hadn't been using it in public!

jane: three months

well, more like 3.5 months. we flew to california on the day she turned 3 months, so i took the pictures a little late. she's growing fast!

here are the first three months, side-by-side. i'm not so great at getting the chair to look the same color each month. oops! :)

and with her little lamb!

a short letter to my daughter

sometimes when i change you in the middle of the night, you look up at me with this sly grin that seems to say, "hey mom! isn't it wonderful that we get to hang out at 4am?"

yes, jane, it is wonderful. it really is. because i know it is just a matter of time before you won't need me in the middle of the night. and in the morning, i'll hurry to your crib to see your smiling face because i'll miss that special time together just you and me and a quiet, dark world outside our window.

these overnight moments are the perfect time to pray over you. your daddy and i pray that as you grow, Christ would draw you to Himself and that your heart would be soft to treasure Him. we pray you will marry a man who treasures Christ, too. and that you stay pure for each other and devoted to your Creator until you meet Him face to face.

within your tiny, wiggly body exists a soul that was known perfectly before the foundation of the earth. we pray that your soul would be completely satisfied in God, who knit you together and whose Word is a lamp unto your feet. He is worthy of your affections and worship, jane——and He is the only One who is.

before long, you'll grow too big for that spot in my arms that you fit into perfectly now. your crib won't seem so vast as i carefully put you down to sleep. and i won't see your beautiful dark eyes peeking over your daddy's shoulders as he soothes you during your evening fussies.


whether fussy or still, sweet jane, i hope you know that it is a delight to spend time with you——no matter what time of day or night.

before and after: our master bath

we finished this renovation in august 2010. as for sharing pictures, better late than never, right?

this bathroom used to be a bedroom. and the old bathroom is now our connected master closet. did you follow that? ;) here's a picture of the bedroom that became our master bath.

 we ripped up the carpet on the second night we owned the house, back in the winter of 2009.

during:

and after!

we designed the layout of the bathroom ourselves with help from ben's dad. at first we were going to try to squeeze in a tub, but we realized we aren't really tub people and decided on a nice big shower instead. (staying on top of cleaning the grout can be tough, but i've had great success with basic h from shaklee—which i use all over our house—and mr. clean magic erasers for tile and grout!)
 

here are our sources in case any of you locals are curious.

cabinetry: designed cabinets

countertops: corian in glacier white from nu shapes construction

tile: marble mosiac and white ceramic penny and wall tiles from kate-lo tile and stone

glass shower enclosure: designed glass

fixtures: delta, kohler, and moen (menards and home depot)

mirrors: ikea
paint color: benjamin moore palladian blue

more on the diy artwork here. 

 

 

jane: two months

eight thoughts from the first eight weeks {in no particular order}

1 :: i'm pretty sure jane looks a little different each morning. and sometimes, when she wakes up from a nap, i swear she looks different from when i put her down.

2 :: watching ben with jane might be the happiest thing in the world.

3 :: baby breath on my neck might be the second happiest thing in the world.

4 :: isn't it funny that tiny little babies are capable of adult-size gas? seriously. and the explosive pooping? my favorite is when it happens during prayer time at small group. she's such a lady.

5 :: moving her to size 1 diapers was kind of traumatic. of course they grow up. i know this. but do they have to grow up so fast? and while we're on this topic, starting a bin of outgrown clothes was kind of traumatic, too. but i better get used to it because i'll be adding to it for a long, long time.

6 :: i am absolutely amazed at the generosity of friends and family. meals, gifts, phone calls, encouraging emails, offers to babysit. the works. i am humbled and blessed by the outpouring of support we have received!

7 :: this sounds super scandy but ben and i love our baby shirtless. that soft baby skin...mmmmm good!

8 :: it seems strange that i have such a strong relationship with a person who can't talk.