Blocks & Cupcakes

We threw a baby shower for a good friend today. She's due March 2, they are also having a boy and also decorating the nursery with a farm theme. We hope our boys will be good friends.

She wanted us to keep the food simple for the shower, so we did cupcakes, mints, nuts, and punch. I wish I had a picture of the cupcakes. Another friend decorated them with pigs, sheep, and chickens. Very cute. I made minis with grass and sunshines (is that a word?). I also stretched my cake decorating abilities (doesn't take much!) with the grass. Randy ran to the store for me this morning and picked up a grass tip. It was pretty easy, but took a little to get the hang of it. It made me want to sign up for a cake decorating class. I'll have to do that...at least before IB's first birthday, so I've got awhile.

Also, I'm posting a picture of the cloth blocks I made a couple weeks ago. I made them as a gift for this shower, so I couldn't post before. I have some really cute fabric for blocks for IB, and I'm looking forward to a free Saturday, so I can make them.



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And please bear with the redecorating. I'm playing, and it's not quite where I want it yet.

Ancient Word Wednesday

On Sunday morning we sang a hymn "Ancient Words," a song I've sung in church plenty of times. This time "Ancient words of our faith handed down through each page" inspired me (besides helping to prepare my heart for the sermon). I've been thinking about how MUCH I gain from my quiet times in God's word and how little I share what He's been teaching me. So welcome to Ancient Word Wednesdays where I get to share a little of what God speaks to me through His awesome Word. I realize I'm going to have keep this up, but I'll do my best.

Back in November I started studying some of the godly mommys of the Bible to prepare for mommyhood. I started with Moses' mom, not someone I had ever thought much about. The main part of her story is told in Exodus 2:1-10, but other passages mention her (Hebrews 11:23). Exodus 6:20 says her name was Jochebed.

She lived and parented in an extremely dangerous time for Jewish babies. The Egyptian Pharoah had recently commanded that all Jewish baby boys be killed when she gave birth to a baby boy. I can't imagine what that would be like! I know that when I give birth to IB, he will be loved and cared for by everyone. No one will be seeking his tiny life.

She already had a son and daughter, but she valued life and sought to protect her newborn baby boy. The Bible says she and her husband hid their son for three months because he was a "beautiful child." The notes in my Bible said the word for beautiful means favored. Although I'm sure they had no idea what God had in mind for their son, they exercised faith in God to take care of the situation.

Jochebed was also creative, and resourceful. She took what was around her (river reeds, mud and pitch) and used her skills to build a basket for her son. She must have also been extremely hopeful in order to take her precious son and lay him in that basket and float him on the river.

Of course God did have an important plan for Jochebed's son, and He knew the plan to get him safely from babyhood to manhood. He even had a place for Jochebed in His perfect plan. Pharoah's daughter who found Moses and wanted to adopt Moses needed a nurse. And because Jochebed was hopeful and planned ahead, her daughter Miriam was there at the perfect time to offer her mother's services. For the next 2-3 years until Moses was weaned Jochebed nurtured him in her home. And she took every advantage of that time.

One commentary stated, "It is said that the Jewish mothers from the time the baby was first cradled in their arms, would begin to whisper, 'Jehovah is God.'" Jewish mothers, and I'm sure especially Jochebed, used every moment to teach their children about God, His law, and His great power. It's so easy to underestimate those early years, but they're vital. I saw that in many examples when I taught 3 & 4 year olds in Sunday school. A mother's faithful teaching is so important in shaping children. What a challenge to me as I start that task in a few months!

Once Moses was weaned, Jochebed had to let him go to his royal Egyptian home. She was forced to trust in God's sovereign plan and know He was able to oversee and care for her son's life.

That's only a little of what I've learned from Jochebed. Go study her for yourself. We always think of her son, but the Bible has plenty to say about her, too.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about Jochebed or what God has been teaching you!

Brag on Hubby Day

Today is Brag on Hubby Day. He's been hard at work in the shop building some beautiful pieces! The first one is the new entertainment center...our living room looks much bigger than it did with the old one in there! The last two are Itty Bitty's dresser/changing table. The pictures don't really do it justice. The top has been varnished so many times, it shines! And the color is actually a creamy white, not as white as the pictures show. He did an awesome job on both pieces!!! Next, he's working on a bookshelf for the office, new speaker stands (his fun, very cool and creative project), followed by a dresser for our room. Good thing he works fast and loves this hobby!

In the corner is the rocker my parents gave us for Christmas complete with IB's first stuffed animal, a very cute lamb from Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Brian, and two blankies, one from each grandma. More pics of the nursery to come as it comes along.

And last, some of you say you still want to see preggo pics. So though I think my growing belly must be getting boring...here's a 24 week shot. And yes, I am wearing the black dress again. Oops.

Quote of the Day

This morning a co-worker walked into my office a few minutes before 10 to see me with a plate of steaming rice and stir-fry vegetables - my hearty mid-morning snack. He's a man who chooses his words carefully and is meticulous in his grammar. After asking a question, he waited patiently while I looked up the answer (I record everything; baby brain is more like bird brain these days).

Then he asks, "Do you find it difficult to get enough to eat?" What could I do but laugh? It's absolutely true...especially in the mornings. I hope I responded appropriately to his question.

Later in the afternoon we were on a conference call with someone I know quite well. Toward the end of the conversation she asked how I was feeling. He paused long enough to let me reply before responding with, "She eats all the time!" What can I say? I have a growing boy!!

Pair his comments with the number of people who recently have told me they can literally see my belly grow (I can literally see my belly grow!) and you have a winning combination for feeling, well, prego...only 112 days left to grow.

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In case you wanted to see the inspirational brown and pink paisley tote my creative sis-in-law made, take a trip over to her site. She has an awesome blog to follow...daily. Seriously, she's really good.

Mallows + Chocolate

I was hanging out over at Joy's blog and was impressed by her coupon clipping (yay for coupons!) and her Christmas food. Granola is a great idea for neighbor gift!

My neighbor gift was bread. I took a Saturday and baked about 10 loaves of quick bread - pumpkin zucchini, pear walnut (actually a coffee cake that works well as bread), and apple banana (thank you, Nanci!) . Most of those went to our Sunday school class for our treat day. A few of those were given as gifts.

I also had some fun making mallow pops. Super easy and fun to dip. Cut wooden bbq skewers in half and stick the pointy end in a large marshmallow. Dip the mallow most of the way in melted choco chips and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Add a packet of cocoa and mallow pop to a cello bag, tie with ribbon, and you have a fun treat to share.

Anyone else have fun home made gifts to share?

Inspiration

My sis-in-law inspired me. She made a great brown and pink paisley tote bag last weekend, and I realized it had been for.ev.er since I dusted off my sewing machine. Then I browsed etsy.com. I had heard about it before from a good friend, but I had no idea how much is on that site. Very cool. So, inspired by these blocks, I went to Hobby Lobby and found some great fabric and sewed away. I have one set done and another yet to go. Then another sewing project for the nursery (which actually now has a crib, a rocker, a bookshelf, and an almost complete dresser/changing table). I'll have to pull the machine out more often. I missed it.

Babymooning in Austin

Okay, this is a long one...

The first weekend in December Randy and I took a much needed long weekend and made a road trip to Austin. Some place warmer than Kansas that we had been wanting to explore. And our babymoon. It was worth every second, and we'd both highly recommend Austin as a great location for a weekend getaway!

We're Food Network junkies, so before we got on the road, we checked out the restaurants that the foodies recommended in Austin and basically planned our trip that way. Yum.

First on the list - Magnolia Cafe from Drive-in, Diners, & Dives (and no I can't say that three times fast). They're known for their pancakes, but we went at lunch and their special of the day enchiladas are yummy too.

Then it was off for an afternoon of exploring the fun, funky shops on South Congress. Everything from wierd consignment to Justin boots and Mexican folk art.

That night we ate at Shady Grove, thank you Rachel Ray. This time we did try the dish they're known for - tortilla fried queso catfish. Yum. We got lost, which proves that even a Garmin isn't always right (thanks, Dad, for letting us test your Christmas gift before you opened it!), but the place was well worth it.

And later...Opera Cake from the best Whole Foods. As much as we like good food and cake, neither of us are big eaters. So we split meals, and on vacation we find the grocery store with the best bakery selection for a treat later in the evening. Whole Foods is the best at this, especially the Austin store. I won't tell you how many times we stopped by that store in three days.

Friday morning we started out with our favorite place of the weekend - 1886 Cafe & Bakery, downtown. This is one of those places you go for breakfast or lunch if you want to save your pennies. We had the best sausage and egg croisant and Ginger Snap Pancakes. So. Good. I have got to try to recreate that recipe. The pancakes were basic fluffy pancakes with blueberries sandwiched between them, crushed ginger snaps and powdered sugar on top and a vanilla maple syrup. I'm not normally a sugar person in the morning, but these were so very good! If anyone has a recipe for vanilla maple syrup, let me know!

After breakfast we took off west of Austin and went exploring around Lake Tyler. We hiked a trail and drove through the hills. Austin has some awesome, HUGE agaves...we wanted to bring some home, but I think the Kansas cold would have killed it this last week.

We had a great afternoon taking the backroads through the hill country. I'm sure it's gorgeous in the spring and summer, but even in December the area is really beautiful!

We ended our adventure at the Salt Lick in Driftwood (that's a great name for a Texas town!), recommended by three different foodies on Food Network, and by far my favorite bbq! When you walk in, you see a huge open pit and huge jars of pickles and jalepenos. Their sauce is vinegar based and so good. We bought a bottle of the sauce. I wish we could have bought the pickles.

The Salt Lick was our favorite, but was rivaled by County Line BBQ back in Austin. We had dinner there Saturday night and got there just in time to enjoy the amazing view of the sunset across the hills. This was the only place we went to that wasn't from Food Network, but I just saw that Road Tasted has been there. So I guess we picked a winner.

And to finish our food tour of Austin we headed back to Whole Foods for a decadent dessert called the Truffle Bomb. Randy needs to figure out how to make this one! It's a chocolate dome filled with a thin layer of cake and velvety chocolate mousse. Oh my.

And no, our trip wasn't all about food. We also checked out plants at a nursery and explored the Zilker Botanical Gardens. We did a little baby shopping where the store owner tried to convince us we need the B.O.B stroller (not unless someone wants to buy it for us!). And we checked out the trails in Zilker park that go right by downtown Austin.

It was a very fun trip. And so good to get away and explore. We'll head back to Austin when it's warmer...and Itty Bitty's a little older. Okay, it might be awhile before we attempt a nine-hour drive, but we'll definitely head back.