7 Quick Takes

So once again, I saw that Anna was on the ball with this while I totally forgot. Hee hee. So here we go...

1 ~ Evelyn is finally sleeping better at night! It took a little work, but she's now going down at 8, sleeping until 4:30 when she eats, and then sleeping until 7. Sometimes she wakes up other than that, but she puts herself back to sleep! Yay!

2 ~ Evelyn is also teething. Her shirt is constantly soaked and she is pretty cranky. I broke down and gave her Motrin at night (I hate doing OTC medicine), but she was miserable and it aided in the whole sleeping better thing.

3 ~ We are over halfway through our 10 week anti-candida diet, and I can finally say that I'm over a lot of my cravings. I've just sort of accepted my new found eating tendencies and am doing ok with it. It will be kind of weird to be able to go to a restaurant in a few weeks and not have to order a plain burger with no bun or cheese and the veggie of the day.

4 ~ We are headed to Iowa tonight. Evelyn and I will be there for 9 days while Scott is in Orlando on a business trip.

5 ~ Scott has to have his wedding ring resized because it falls off. He's going to have it done while I'm up in Iowa because that's where we purchased it. So he will be going on a business trip without his ring...it kind of made me laugh.

6 ~ It's my birthday next week. I love my birthday. I blame my mom for this because our birthday's were always such a big deal when we were growing up. You got to pick what all the meals would be and it was always so exciting. I always ate breakfast food all day long (pancakes, waffles, french toast)! Yum!

7 ~ Evelyn is 5 months old already!!! It's already been a big month for her. She has learned to sleep unswaddled without a pacifier and to spit! What amazing accomplishments!

Evelyn's Antics

Here's a video of Evelyn blowing bubbles, "playing" with a toy, and trying to pull her tunnel over on top of her. :) Right after I stopped recording she managed to pull a little too hard and toppled over backward. She was not very happy about it!

She Has Grown!

7 Quick Takes

I'm not nearly as consistent at doing this as Anna is...but here I go.

#1 - We are Hotel Behrens this weekend as Meredith (my best friend from high school) and Dan (a guy who was in small group with us at Timeberline) come to visit this weekend. They don't know each other, it just randomly happened that their visits landed on the same weekend.

#2 - I found our camera! Woo hoo!

#3 - Poor Scott is super busy with work again thanks to a part of the stimulus bill that affects COBRA.

#4 - Evelyn was chewing on my chin this morning and left a lovely purple mark for me.

#5 - I'm reading an incredible book right now called "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies" by Kenneth Bock, M.D. It is so informative and interesting. He has patients from around the world that fly in to see him to help with their children because he has had so much success with not just helping families deal with the disorders, but CURING the problems. I think every parent should read it whether or not they have a child with these issues.

#6 - Please pray for us as we deal with some big decisions about whether or not to stay at our current church. We have some serious doctrinal issues with what we think the pastor may believe. We are planning a nice long sit down with him to figure out where he really stands. If it doesn't go well, we will have to go back on the hunt for a church that preaches the Bible. Who would think that would be so hard to find??? How sad.

#7 - Grandma Karen has been pretty good at picking out toys that Evelyn likes. Here she is in a couple of them.

Butternut Squash Soup with Shredded Chicken

I haven't posted a recipe in a while, so here's what we ate for dinner last night.



1 Butternut squash, about 4 lbs.

4 Tbs. olive oil

1 small chopped onion

2 cloves finely chopped garlic

1 shredded carrot

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 Tbs. sea salt

2 Tbs. black pepper

1 finely minced jalepeno pepper

4 cups chicken stock



Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Peel the squash and cut into 1 inch pieces. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 min. and then add squash, jalepeno pepper, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat and puree the soup using an immersion blender or transfer to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Return to heat and adjust seasonings to taste.



3-4 chicken breasts

1 carrot coasely chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

About 1 tsp. each of sea salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried thyme



Clean chicken breasts and place in a pan just covered with water. Add carrot and garlic and boil for 20 minutes, reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Remove chicken and strain the broth. Be sure to save the broth! Shred chicken and return to pan with 1-2 cups of broth and sprinkle with spices. Heat until well mixed, but not dried out.



Serve over a bowl of soup with tortilla chips.

Funny Pictures

These pictures crack me up!

Being Cute

Evelyn likes to sit in the kitchen with me while I cook. She gets kind of excited sometimes and the arms get a little crazy!

Getting Better

Evelyn is getting better and better at sitting up.

Evelyn Finds Her Toes

Evelyn has found her toes and she really likes them! Her favorite is to suck on them when you're trying to change her diaper or get her dressed.