I Want to remember...UPDATED

2 things: UPDATED
I want to remember that today my sister Jodi was induced with their 5th child (name to be announced after his birth- but from what my inside sources tell me their daughter Sienna choose the name). Jod was induced at 38 weeks (today) because the history of LARGE babies.  After her doctor did some testing to see this little guy's size it was determined he was following the lead of his 3 brother's before him........BIG!  When I sign off tonight, she (J) has been laboring all day and progressing at a snail pace (poor thing) but being a trooper about it all- Thank you Lord for Epidurals and an even bigger Thank you Lord that the result of labor is a precious baby!  Hang in there sis he is almost here.....UPDATED BELOW THIS PICTURE

Jodi

Very soon after I posted this my sis had her baby- The following text was sent out announcing the birth:
'Please say Happy Birthday to Toby James.  He is beautiful, he is healthy, and Jodi is holding him contentedly.  He will give his brothers a run for their money at 22 inches long and 10 lbs. 14 ounces.  Praise the Lord.  Thank you for your prayers, they were most definitely heard!'

 Also want to remember that today our Ellie is 18 months old.......Ellie you are such an amazing blessing, a gift from God, and a joy
Really quick, a few mile stones this month are:

• you say 'toot toot' when anyone around you (including yourself) farts
• you give knuckles to your dad and brothers
• given the chance you will eat bar soap while in the bath
• you choose riding on your daddy's back over riding on your horse hee haw
• your shoe size is between a 3 & 4, you weigh just under 20, and you are 29 inches high
• anything citrus gives you diaper rash
• inspired by your Auntie Molly (who's twins are about 6 weeks younger than Ellie and can say please and thank you) mommy taught you to say 'please' and 'thank you' (I also thought I was being all 'up with current parenting' by teaching Elle's to sign language the word 'please'- come to find out I taught her to sign 'more'- Sorry Christy W. we are not signers over here......but if a child ever needs nursed until they are at least 2 years old look me up...........bahahahahahahaaaa!!!

Night 1 of New Dinner Recipes

The positives of having the ache, fever, chill, headache flu is that while confined to either your couch or bed one can still accomplish things (where as, while having the stomach flu, making it to the toilet IN TIME consumes the entire sickness- hogging any other accomplishments that may come from being checked out of every day commitments for a day or two...).  All Thurs. afternoon and most of Fri. I found myself in the fever, chill, headache flu predicament-   By Fri. morning it was time to multi task- Along with letting the flu virus finish it's course I decided to recipe plan a weeks worth of new dinner recipes (something I have been meaning to do for awhile but could not seem to find the time to do).......
We tried the first one today and it was delicious and easy- I will share each one as we try it (want to make sure it is good before passing it on)-
I found this first recipe on Pinterest from a blogger named  Pineapple Grass.......... We had it today after church and it was YUMMY!

Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

Serves 4, or 2 very hungry eaters. I sliced into 8 strips to serve at a party.

I used shredded chicken instead of turkey, and a premade pizza dough. This is a fantastic stromboli. LOVED it!

Dough:

I used a canister of premade pizza dough, but the blog linked above has a recipe for homemade, if you prefer

Filling:

1 lb. boneless chicken breast

1/4 cup red hot sauce (I used one that was not hot but still had spice)

2 T. butter, melted

1 cup diced onions

3/4 cup bleu cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Oil, Parmesan, and fresh parsley for topping

Cook chicken on a grill, in a skillet, or by poaching. Once chicken is cooked through, shred or dice into 1-2″-1″ cubes and combine with Frank’s red hot and butter. Increase the amount of Frank's if you prefer a spicier dish.

Pre-heat oven to 425˚ with a baking stone (if you have one).

Role out pizza dough into a 16″x10″ rectangle with the 16″ edge parallel to your body. Leaving a 1″ border, spread chicken over dough (drizzle a little of the extra Frank’s over the chicken-about 2-3 T). Sprinkle Onions, Bleu cheese and mozzarella on top of that (the amount of cheese is really up to you). Beginning with the side closest to you, begin to roll the stromboli away from you. When finished, seal each end edge and the long edge by pinching the dough. Cut three-four slits in the top and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh parsley and Parmesan  Slide onto baking stone (or sheet tray) and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the filling begins to bubble out and the crust is golden. Let cool slightly before cutting.

10 lb New Born Babies, Howling Dogs, & Christmas Caroling

What's in my head

• I keep thinking about Christmas lights and what is the best stratagy for lighting the outside of our house next year.....buy them the day after Christmas at an amazing discounted rate or (like I talked about in my last blog post) HIRE THEM DONE- or should we put them up at all??
• My sister Jodi is about to give birth to her 5th child- An average weight of her children at birth is over 10 lbs (I think the highest delivery weight for one of her kiddo's was 10 lbs. 8 oz.)- by the size of her stomach this pregnancy I am guessing this will be her biggest baby yet- She has 3 boys and 1 girl.........This pregnancy she is carrying a precious boy......................Jod, I am guessing he will weigh 10 lbs. 11 oz. and be 22.5 inches long with a birthdate of Dec. 23-
• Ellie and I went Christmas Caroling with our Church this past Sun. There is something so special about riding on a wagon (sitting on hay bales) behind a John Deere wishing people 'Merry Christmas' and singing them Christmas songs about Christ's Birth- 
• Lastly- It's been a struggle with my dog Oklie since Ellie has been born- Oke has struggled remembering that she is not the baby anymore in our family....she used to sleep with us, but over the past year or so we decided that she needed to sleep in her own bed by our bed.  It has been off and on but lately somewhat constant, she will get up in the night and either paw at the side of our bed or walk around in our bedroom (which wakes us up)- Late last week, after being woke up by her at 1 a.m. it was obvious that we needed to try something different.  My mom had an extra porta crib- Oke's bedding went in it, along with her water bowl and the whole thing went down stairs at the very farthest end of our house (on the other side of our TV).  After putting her in it and shutting the lights off (leaving her a night light on) I made my way to bed.....I shut my bedroom and covered my ears with my pillow when she started howling and figured the howling would stop eventually and she would get used to her new 'bedroom'- It ended fairly quickly and a full nights sleep for Matt and I followed.......In the morning I was walking by the boys bedroom and saw that they had brought the porta crib she was in up to their room and she was sound asleep in it.  I asked them about it when they got up- Eli said he could not stand hearing her howl and figured she just wanted to be by somebody so he brought her to their room- that is where she has been every night since!  Very cute!!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Tues.

This is my sister's last baby (Caleb) at 3 days old- He weighed well over 10 lbs at birth.......
OUCH!

Remembering Pearl Harbor

I wrote this post Dec. 7, 2012

Today, the 71 years would read 74 years, but other than that all would stay the same.

Remembering Pearl Harbor

71 years........

December 7, 1941

My family and I were able to make a trip to Pearl Harbor in 2009

Talking to the Veterans who had survived the attack was sobering

The quiet ride out to the USS Arizona was done with an unspeakable reverence

Standing on the memorial platform that over looked the sight and reading the soldiers names who had lost their brave lives was heart wrenching

After the visit to Pearl Harbor we made the 24 mile trek to

 National Memorial Cemetery (also known as Punch Bowl).....To me, the look and 'feeling' was a lot like that of Arlington National Cemetery only land wise, much smaller. The respect shown at all three Memorial's brought tears of thankfulness for our brave soldiers who risk their lives daily for the freedom of our Counrty. 

For those who have given their lives, you have not been forgotten- Nor will you be.

Thank you soldiers.

Thank you soldiers families.

 I am proud to be an American!

' In these gardens are recorded the names of the American's who gave their lives in the service of their country.......'

Pearl Harbor

Punch Bowl National Cemetery

Just Random

10 Random Thoughts

1. I was walking with Ryan a week or so ago- As we rounded the first corner in our subdivision the house on the corner immediately stood out........the Christmas lights looked amazing- they were on the house and in the yard....simple red and white lights that did not dangle but were fixed on the house. Two red and one white was the pattern- It reminded me of a ginger bread house. As I walked in awe by it I also noticed a small sign in the yard that read the name of a professional 'Christmas light' company-Outstanding Idea!! No digging around in the attic only to find the lights and spend most of the day untangling :(- I wonder how much having your house professionally lighted costs?
2. In an effort to learn more about making Jam, I was reading an article on the different types of berries that make a good jam and came across a Tayberry.......... 'A tayberry is a hybrid of a blackberry and a raspberry. Originally from Scotland, tayberry plants have large, sweet berries.' ............hummmm......I did not know that!
3. Laying on my night stand open faced and faced down indicating the last page I read is the book 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.' The book's name brings a smile to my face and makes me think of you Kelly W. and us sitting around the kitchen in the big house at Kipu Kai discussing books we have read :)
4. I have a longing for my boys to shoot a turkey, de-feather it before they bring it home, and I will cook it for them- In my vision of longing, I see all 5 of us sitting around our table eating something tough and stringy but being completely proud of it none the less.....Here's to my wild side :)
5. Ellie started saying 'Thank You'.....it comes out as 'tank-eeewww'
6. My sister in law Liz is one of the most beautiful people I know both inside and out- She has courageously battled and been victorious over an eating disorder- In her battle the Lord has taught her several truth's and given her incredible insight into the roots of where eating disorders began for her- If your interested, here is the link to a post she 'posted' today: The not so airbrushed truth- I love you precious Liz a beth and admire God's strength in you!
7. Every Christmas the same song takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes.....'Mary did you know that your baby boy has walked where angles trod- when you kiss your little baby you kiss the face of God'
8. My cousin Becca is looking to re-home her maybe pregnant rabbit- If your interested PM me and I will pass the info on to her- On a side note, I wonder how many babies the maybe pregnant rabbit could possibly have? (hee)
9. Speaking of rabbits- I bought (at Goodwill) an adorable off white sweater originally from Banana Republic- It has a soft expensive feel to it so I flipped the tag over to see what it was made out of- Angora Wool
10. For a BEAUTIFUL listen click here........

Hope you are all having a great Thurs,
Steph





Lizabeth and I

Beard vs. Christmas Tree

When it comes to Christmas tree's, I would head on down to the local lot and buy our tree then decorate it so that when others either came into my house or drove by they would oooohhh and aaaaaahhhh over it's perfection
I also need to add that last week my husband did not shave for several days with his mind set on growing a beard like the guys on Duck Dynasty

I knew the battle needed to be carefully chosen.........both would not be won
I choose the battle of the beard
This past Sun. my clean shaven husband loaded up the fam to go search the mountains for the perfect Christmas tree- He promised both wonderful family memories and a tree with character (which means lop sides, sparse,and some rare abnormality :)
I also made him add to his promises that he would not take us four by'ing as we headed into the mountains or on a family 'hunting' trip because his practical mind would see it as accomplishing 2 things at once (the dead deer hanging out the back of the truck and the Christmas tree hanging over the top of the truck onto the windshield.......no thank you........but on total side note it makes me think about the movie 'Australia'- the part where Nicole Kidman is admiring the kangaroo hopping along side the vehicle she is in- you hear a shot- the next scene shows the dead kangaroo on top of the vehicle and a look of horror on her face)
It was a wonderful family time........

There it is :)

 



I will add more pictures of both our Christmas Tree hunt and our family tree decorating later- For some reason my blog will not upload anymore pics-



Just a glimpse to be Thankful

As my boys have gotten older the glimpses of what life will be like very soon seem to come my way more and more often- The moments when we are all together, even in one room, seem to be coming farther and farther between........No longer does mama call all the shots for her kiddo's but instead work (for my boys) and everyday commitments seem to get their say too. 
I hold those moments that the 5 of us are together, all doing the same thing, closer to my heart.  I tuck the mental images away and even go as far as to take out my camera so that the image can live outside my head

Thanksgiving morning, it was just the 5 of us at home, getting ready to head to Matt's family's house for our Thanksgiving meal.   Ellie was up from her nap, Ryan and Matt had finished peeling the 20 pounds of potatoes, Eli had made his way into the living room by this point and I was finishing up cleaning the kitchen. 

I don't know who got down on the floor first- I am guessing that Elle's dragged Hee Haw her horse over by her daddy and got on......her daddy probably got off the couch and down on the floor by her first, encouraging her as she rocked back and forth- Her brothers probably followed suit........hearing the laughs I walked into the living room and stood by- Watching, letting my heart absorb the scene- Feeling the beautifulness of  my family.....

Thank you Heavenly Father for my family.  Please forgive me for the times I forget to appreciate and instead grumble.

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