Friday, April 24, 2009

7 Quick Takes

1~ Evelyn turned 7 months old this week! It doesn't seem possible, but she is more fun than ever.

2~ We are loving the awesomely warm weather we are getting this week. We broke out the sundresses!





3~ Evelyn has started saying ma ma ma ma and crawling to me when she wants to nurse or is tired. It's so cute!

4~ Despite being offered a few different foods, she still prefers to eat grass and dirt. I don't get it. She would rather put grass in her mouth than banana??? Last night she did consume a very small amount (as in one tiny piece about half the size of my pinky nail) of shredded chicken out of my chicken quinoa soup. She didn't seem to mind it, but wouldn't eat another piece when I offered it to her. I guess she's just content to nurse for now.

5~ She went to the church nursery for the first time last Sunday. It made me a little nervous, but we were at a new church and I really wanted to be able to pay attention. I also scoped it out first to figure out who was in there watching the kiddos and how many of them were in there. There were only a couple babies and Evelyn didn't even flinch when the woman in charge picked her up and started playing with her. She's so independent most of the time, so I guess it doesn't suprise me too much that it went so well.

6~ I finished reading "Tortured for Christ" this week. Absolutely incredible book. You can get it for free at www.persecution.com. I think every American should read it. It's eye opening as to what is truly going on around the world while we live in comfort here.

7~ I put a map of the world up on my fridge. It has countries shaded in with three different colors. The US and most of Europe, South America, and the southern part of Africa are one color. The rest of the countries are either yellow meaning they are a restricted nation (meaning that the government policy or practice prevents Christians from obtaining Bibles or other Christian literature, or that government-sanctioned circumstances and anti-Christian laws lead to Christians being harassed, imprisoned, killed, or deprived of posessions or liberties because of their witness)or brown meaning they are a hostile area (meaning the government consistently attempts to provide protection for the Christian population, but Christians are victims of violence because of their witness). I have started to make it a habit that anytime during the day that I open the fridge or look at the map I pray for the Christians and those that persecute them in these countries. I don't say this that anyone would look at me and think I'm doing something great, but rather to encourage you to pray for these people as well. There is nothing that they need more than people praying for them. None of the problems that can affect us here in America come close to touching what these people go through every day. Not even close. You would be amazed at how the knowledge of what others are going through and praying for them does to your day. Things that used to so greatly affect me just don't seem so important now. Give it a shot. See what God will do.

Have a great week and be a blessing!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Chicken Quinoa Soup

Here's what's for dinner tonight...

1 whole chicken (cut into pieces)
2 quarts chicken stock
1 large onion chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
3-4 celery stocks with leaves chopped
1 T thyme
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves

Bring to a boil and skim the top. Simmer for 3 hours. Strain stock and put in the fridge until fat hardens on top. Tear/chop the chicken meat into tiny pieces.

1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup minced onion
1 T dried parsley or finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup quinoa (preferably soaked overnight in 1 cup water and 2 T plain yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk then rinsed, but this is not necessary for the taste to turn out fine)
salt and pepper to taste

Add above ingredients and chicken to the stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Quinoa is a whole grain that has a mild nutty flavor. I get mine from the health food store, but it may be available at other grocery stores as well. It is a complete protein and very healthy!

Adventures with Yams


What are these things?


I'm not sure about this...


I think I'll just squish them on my tray instead.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter

We had a wonderful time in Iowa over Easter weekend.


Evelyn loves Abby.


I just love that smile.


Yes, we purposefully match. We're first time parents...what can I say???


Can you spot the teeth?


This is the best attempt at getting a picture of my parent's grandkids together.


All done taking pictures!


Evelyn and Max playing together.


I just can't believe how adorable she is.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Why I Like Verse by Verse Teaching

I really like verse-by-verse teaching of the Bible. Give me that over any other form of preaching any day. Gaylin Wiemers, a great pastor in Iowa, just wrote a blog post explaining why he teaches this way. It's so good!

http://genword.blogspot.com/2009/04/application.html

Monday, April 6, 2009

Dishwasher Adventures

Evelyn loves playing with silverware and kitchen utensils when I give them to her. Now she's figured out how to find some for herself! You can also see that she has learned to stand up on her own with the aid of whatever she crawls to.

Friday, April 3, 2009

7 Quick Takes

I forgot last week, so I'm going to be on top of it this week. :)

1~ Evelyn in her new onesie I made her.



2~ I think she likes chocolate. :)



3~ This is just never a good sight.



4~ Let the indoctrination begin early...



5~ Evelyn loves playing outside in the grass, but it has been really cold this week so she wasn't able to. Instead she has spent a lot of time doing this. How cute is that?



6~ Evelyn's crawling adventures are proving to be interesting! Her favorite things to crawl after are anything that is not a toy...particularly electrical cords and paper.

7~ As far as Evelyn is concerned, the alphabet starts with the letter "B". She chewed the page with the "A" until it was so dissolved I had to tear it off. There was a picture of an apple on it; maybe it just looked too tempting...

Have a great week and be a blessing!