Making cookies :)

C loves helping in the kitchen - he loves to lean over and sniff the pot when something is on the stove, and he especially loves making cookies! And eating the batter. :) And checking them out in the oven when I turn the light on. My sister R was here this weekend and she took a few photos of our fun!

Wearing Daddy's apron - I'm working on making him his own!

He kept sticking his tongue out and giggling!

Hurry up Mom! I'm hungry!

These cookies were made using sunbutter - a peanut butter substitute. Honey, not sugar was used as the sweetener and they are delicious! We've already made them 4 times, and C gets very excited when he sees the cookie jar on the counter! :) I used the recipe from the Against All Grain cookbook, but here is a similar recipe on the author's website). Mine were plain since I can't eat chocolate. And yes, as mentioned on the site - my cookies did have a bit of green in the middle due to the sunbutter and baking soda, haha. I think I'll omit the lemon juice entirely next month for St. Patrick's Day. :-D

Happy Monday!

For 28 hours, we were 4

Yes... that's right. I hesitate to even hit publish on this post, because it really seems like just a dream. We got a call a week ago that a birthmother had chosen us to be parents of her little girl. In shock and amazement, I let the sweet ladies from my book club clean up the kitchen and take care of the babes (there were 4 little boys all around C's age running around) while I called family to share the news, ask for help (we weren't sure C would be allowed in the hospital with us so were looking for friends to watch him, but it turns out he was allowed) and get some things packed. DH arrived home as soon as he could (it was out of state and we were needed there as soon as we could get there). Less than 5 hours later, we arrived, signed the paperwork, met the birthmother and met our "daughter."We held her briefly - we hadn't packed dinner, other than some snacks and food for C, and needed to get back on the road so that C could get some sleep. (He napped relatively well on the ride there.) My parents arrived just before midnight. I think I got to bed around 2:00?! We were up to go to Mass at 8, then made a run to BRUs for some formula and cute girl clothes. Oh, and newborn diapers. :) We had a few other things we had to take care of before we got on the road again. When we were just about to the exit for the hospital, we got the "other call"... the one no adoptive parent ever wants to receive. "She has changed her mind. She is going to parent."

DH and I thanked the Lord for a few little things - mainly, that we hadn't decided on a name. We had it narrowed down, but weren't sure. I didn't order a bunch of supplies to make the homemade formula (not that I can't use it for the next baby, but still, we hesitated and I'm glad it won't be arriving this week in the mail). I didn't order a bunch of things from Etsy. I could return a bunch of things to the store. And that we had so many people praying for peace for us, that we felt it. We barely had time to process it. It was almost like we visited a friend in the hospital, saw the baby, and came home. And that was it. There are so many couples we know who have had a failed adoption much later in the process. We never had custody of her. I thank God for protecting our hearts. Next time He may ask more, I don't know. On the ride home we simply said to one another - we have each other, we have C, and we trust God with our family. I never thought my infertile self would be able to say that and mean it. We trust God with our family. 

Adoption is a very tricky thing to pray for. In a perfect world, there would be no need for adoption because birthparents would be able to provide for and care for their children. There would be no infertility.

It's not a perfect world.

There is infertility, and there are children who need parents other than those who gave them life. So we pray for the next child who God asks us to parent, whenever he or she comes along.

We thank Him for the gift of that sweet and precious little girl. She was not meant for us, so we will pray for her and her mother. I ask you to do the same.

HWFD: Breakfast! Italian Baked Eggs

My new favorite breakfast is this delicious recipe! It's grain-free and dairy free for those of you who need it! You can follow the recipe as linked to above, or you can adapt it if you want a larger amount for a bigger family or if you want leftovers.

Against All Grain - Recipe here!

I adapted it so that I could have easy leftovers - I just reheat my portion (and C's) on a plate in the toaster oven each morning. :)

Adaptation notes:
I used 1 pound of hot italian sausage - cooked first, then crumbled in a 9x13 pan.
I used kale instead of spinach because that's what I had from the farmer's market. I cut it into small pieces and spread it in a thin layer. (I say "thin" but kale is puffy - I figured I used about 2 squished handfuls.)
The first time I made it, I used 2 heirloom tomatoes, but the second time, I used canned diced tomatoes, spread in a thin layer.
I doubled the amount of the "cheese" sauce - yes, it really does make it taste cheesy!! Amazing! :)
I used about a dozen eggs, broken on top of the other ingredients, yokes intact.

I baked it at 350 for 25-30 minutes. My yokes were a little more well-done than I would have liked, but I wanted the whites fully cooked. Next time I think 20-25 minutes will be sufficient.

Have a great weekend, friends! Let me know if this makes it to your Sunday brunch! :)

Bauble Bar - some pretty bling!

Have you seen the site Bauble Bar? I typically do not wear a lot of jewelry, but I've come to appreciate how it can really bring outfits to life. I am often in jeans and a simple sweater, top or tee, so when I head out of the house, I like to add a little scarf or some bling to look a bit more pulled together. I think Bauble Bar has some reasonably priced selections.

This necklace is the one I just purchased using Christmas money - I love the deep blue/purple color and wore it this weekend with a white dress shirt and black skinny pants and boots:

Cabochon Blossom Necklace 

It comes in a deep pink color as well, but sadly, it is now on their wait list!

These I like too:

Fuchsia Layered Petals Bib Necklace

Navi Blossom Bib

Mini Hex Strand

Have you found any great websites for reasonably priced jewelry? Do you like statement necklaces?

Update

We found out this morning that the birthparents decided to parent. Honestly, we are fine with that. We obviously would have been thrilled to be chosen, but are perfectly comfortable with whatever God's timing happens to be for our family. Thank you for your prayers!

Getting shown tomorrow!

Well... it's a little earlier than we thought might happen - but we are getting shown tomorrow! Whatever happens, DH and I both said we feel peaceful - we are just open to God's will!

If you would pray for the birthmother who has a tough decision to make tomorrow, I'd appreciate it! Thank you!!

Happy New Year! (and some Christmas photos)

Happy New Year, friends! :) I hope you all enjoyed ringing in the New Year... last week. I'm still in the octave, so it counts, right?

First the fun stuff- photos :)

Attempt at using 50mm lens to get great Bokeh shot. Wiggling 20 mo-old. Riiiight.

What he wanted to be doing instead of opening presents. :) Ah, my little Beethoven.

I have no idea what he was opening here, but the face is priceless!

Auntie R kept him going with frequent tickles!

Bokeh attempt with still subjects. My sweet niece M and sister M.

Did I mention he's 20 months? This was AFTER our "Midnight" Mass AT 7... still past bedtime.

Thanks Auntie R for getting him to smile!

With my Grandma- this makes me misty-eyed. She is AMAZING... and we were so blessed to celebrate another Christmas with her. She gave us all a pretty good scare a few weeks before ending up in the hospital with pneumonia.

And now for 2014!

I'm still working on my goals, but I do want to eventually post them all here. I'm such a list person, are you? If I don't write it down (either here or on my phone or on paper), it gets forgotten. I do like lists all those places, but I still prefer handwritten ones. I get to use pretty colored pens. :) But, here you can hold me accountable, right? These are in no particular order.

 1) Read one book per month. I have oodles to read that I OWN, so I don't need to venture farther than one of our bookshelves.

A few I've started that I want to finish:

• God and Ronald Reagan, A Spiritual Life - Paul Kengor (a former, and my favorite undergrad professor) -- actual physical book
• the Unwired Mom - Sarah Mae (kindle)
• Desperate - Sarah Mae & Sally Clarkson (kindle)
• Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids - Dr. Laura Markham (kindle) - I'm still previewing as I just found her ahaParenting website - I'm sure there are tips I can use!
• The Joyful Child, Montessori, Global Wisdom from Birth to Three - Susan Stephenson (kindle)
• How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way - Tim Seldon (actual physical book!)

I need to add a few "professional" books to my list, again ones I already own.

2) Less time online. (See above books!) I'm working on my weekly schedule, because I do love reading blogs in my "downtime"... but it needs to be managed more carefully. Hence the reason I took the Advent break.

3) I have 22 blog post drafts. Finish them or delete them already! :) And one of those will be a reflection on my Advent break!

4) Go to bed early so I can get up before C in order to get my morning prayer done BEFORE he wakes up. This is so crucial to my being a better mother. If I got as much sleep as C (12-13 hours each night) maybe I would actually have the energy he does, haha! :-D

5) Manual Mode on my Camera. Time to start practicing and stop expecting the "perfect" shot immediately.

6) Finish some personal projects. These include one more quilt using all my leftover fabric, and finishing our FamilyBook albums (I have 3 years, including 2013 now to do) and C's baby book.

Did you make resolutions? Feel free to share in the comments! :)