I haven't posted any of these in a while. I really need to carry a notebook around with me to record all the funny things Ben says. But here are a few I remember from recently.
Matt's parents were here for a visit and Benjamin was talking nonstop as usual. We were trying to clarify something he said and mentioned "everybody." He said "No, not everybody, just a couple buddies."
Matt was reading to Ben from a children's Bible verse book and read Proverbs 20:11 to him. It reads "Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right." Matt started talking to Ben about how our actions show what is in our heart. Then he asked Ben what was in his heart. Ben thought for a minute and then said "Blood."
This morning I was sitting on the floor reading my Bible and Ben brought his children's Bible in to read. He turned to a picture of Jesus being baptized and said "mommy look, he got advertised."
I love love love the mind of my little three year old!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Valentine Rambles
Happy late Valentine's Day! I am a girl who likes any excuse for celebration, so Valentine's day is one of my favorite days. After having at least one of us sick for nearly two weeks, the fact that we were all well for this weekend made it even better. We had a great weekend (yes we like to extend our celebrations) that included a date for me and Matt, a date for me and Ben, and lots of good family time. Matt actually started this year off two weeks early by hiding valentine's notes or treats for me somewhere around the house each day. I felt pretty spoiled and very blessed. I'm not sure when the last time was that we were out at a restaurant on Valentine's weekend, and it was definitely crowded, but it was fun. Yesterday I took Ben out for a lunch date and then we went to the pet store. I have pretty severe allergies to anything with fur, so we will never own a cat or dog, but it was fun to look around. We could have come home with a baby hedgehog for a mere $190. Not sure what you do with a pet hedgehog, but I will say that it was kind of cute.
Getting cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory has been pretty traditional for us the past few years, but now that we live in a little city, that was not an option. Unless of course I wanted to pay $45 in shipping, plus $28 for the 7" cheesecake. So, we opted for our other favorite dessert. Or at least, it used to be. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge ice cream girl. I think I would say it is, or at least was, my very favorite dessert. But for some reason, my body has decided it doesn't appreciate milk or cream, or yogurt, and only tolerates small amounts of other dairy. This has been the case for several months now and I think it's almost been a bit of an adventure for me as I have been figuring out what I can and can't have. But for some reason this weekend the adventure aspect of it was no more and I kind of had a silent kicking screaming fit inside myself as I stood in the dairy free ice cream aisle. Matt had requested chocolate ice cream and that sounded SO good to me. But my choices were very limited in the dairy free aisle and chocolate was not there. I went home with Matt's chocolate ice cream and my vanilla rice non dairy dessert and about half way home I was convicted of how bratty I was being. As if the world was coming to an end because I could never have real ice cream again. It's amazing how much I can blow things out of proportion when I get into the mode of having to have exactly what I want. As it turned out, we all enjoyed our valentine's day (r)ice cream and I discovered that homemade chocolate chip cookies make even non dairy options taste amazing.
In other news, (not that what we had for our Valentine's dessert was really news) one month from tomorrow we will be attending an adoption information session for an agency in our state. We did attend one training session for foster care, but after lots of prayer, we think that the timing may be a bit off for now. It's hard because there truly is such a need for good foster homes, but we feel like we need to be a bit more connected here before taking on something that could potentially be very emotionally difficult. This is still something we think God is calling us to and we are praying about the possibility of going through the training again in three or four years. In the mean time, we plan to pursue an infant adoption through an agency we've heard good things about. I'm nervous about starting over again, especially since the doors have so clearly been shut these last couple years, but we are laying it before the Lord and asking for His will. I'm hopeful that His will is another child in our family, but my hearts desire is that I not be in a place of desiring a child more than desiring God's perfect plan for our family.
Getting cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory has been pretty traditional for us the past few years, but now that we live in a little city, that was not an option. Unless of course I wanted to pay $45 in shipping, plus $28 for the 7" cheesecake. So, we opted for our other favorite dessert. Or at least, it used to be. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge ice cream girl. I think I would say it is, or at least was, my very favorite dessert. But for some reason, my body has decided it doesn't appreciate milk or cream, or yogurt, and only tolerates small amounts of other dairy. This has been the case for several months now and I think it's almost been a bit of an adventure for me as I have been figuring out what I can and can't have. But for some reason this weekend the adventure aspect of it was no more and I kind of had a silent kicking screaming fit inside myself as I stood in the dairy free ice cream aisle. Matt had requested chocolate ice cream and that sounded SO good to me. But my choices were very limited in the dairy free aisle and chocolate was not there. I went home with Matt's chocolate ice cream and my vanilla rice non dairy dessert and about half way home I was convicted of how bratty I was being. As if the world was coming to an end because I could never have real ice cream again. It's amazing how much I can blow things out of proportion when I get into the mode of having to have exactly what I want. As it turned out, we all enjoyed our valentine's day (r)ice cream and I discovered that homemade chocolate chip cookies make even non dairy options taste amazing.
In other news, (not that what we had for our Valentine's dessert was really news) one month from tomorrow we will be attending an adoption information session for an agency in our state. We did attend one training session for foster care, but after lots of prayer, we think that the timing may be a bit off for now. It's hard because there truly is such a need for good foster homes, but we feel like we need to be a bit more connected here before taking on something that could potentially be very emotionally difficult. This is still something we think God is calling us to and we are praying about the possibility of going through the training again in three or four years. In the mean time, we plan to pursue an infant adoption through an agency we've heard good things about. I'm nervous about starting over again, especially since the doors have so clearly been shut these last couple years, but we are laying it before the Lord and asking for His will. I'm hopeful that His will is another child in our family, but my hearts desire is that I not be in a place of desiring a child more than desiring God's perfect plan for our family.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Iced In
I find it quite humorous that we lived in Texas for almost seven years and then the first winter we are back home, we have the worst winter in years. Although from what I've heard, Texas is getting a pretty bad one this year too.
The freezing rain started Monday night and later turned to ice, continuing through Tuesday night. We never did get much more than a dusting of snow though and our building only lost power for a little more than an hour. Compared to much of the city, we were blessed. It's officially been four days since I've ventured beyond our parking lot. I'm such a wimp when it comes to driving in winter snow, so driving on potentially icy roads terrifies me.
Matt had two days off, which was also a huge blessing since my body decided it was time to get sick and I was worthless for two days. But yesterday was a fun day of hanging out inside doing crafts, baking, reading, playing, dancing to music, and enjoying the pretty sunshine from the indoors. We did make it outside for a little while, but everything was so slick that Ben kept falling and I came close several times.
I did finally remember to take a few pictures!
The freezing rain started Monday night and later turned to ice, continuing through Tuesday night. We never did get much more than a dusting of snow though and our building only lost power for a little more than an hour. Compared to much of the city, we were blessed. It's officially been four days since I've ventured beyond our parking lot. I'm such a wimp when it comes to driving in winter snow, so driving on potentially icy roads terrifies me.
Matt had two days off, which was also a huge blessing since my body decided it was time to get sick and I was worthless for two days. But yesterday was a fun day of hanging out inside doing crafts, baking, reading, playing, dancing to music, and enjoying the pretty sunshine from the indoors. We did make it outside for a little while, but everything was so slick that Ben kept falling and I came close several times.
I did finally remember to take a few pictures!
Puzzles are best when done in your bathrobe
Benjamin and I made cinnamon raisin bread. mmmmm!
Time for some honey butter
Now for the cinnamon and raisins
He was so proud of his bread
This picture doesn't capture it well, but the trees looked like crystals yesterday!
Ben couldn't stay on his feet and ended up having to crawl back to the door
The bushes behind our building
The side yard beside our building is a solid sheet of ice
Monday, January 31, 2011
Weekend Blessing
I think my camera has taken a vacation. Perhaps it has decided that if it can't photograph sunny warm things, it might as well not photograph at all. Or, it could just be that I never remember to actually use it.
Today is an exciting day! We have officially made it through what in my opinion is the worst month of the year if you live in winter weather land. Once we hit February, it feels like we are on the downhill slide toward Spring. Woohoo! But it doesn't look like January is going out without leaving her mark. We are expecting a major ice and then snow storm in the next few days that will probably mean not leaving the house again until Thursday. You can bet Benjamin and I will be doing some major reading, crafting, baking, and playing. Maybe I'll even take some pictures. :-)
This past weekend was a fun one for Ben (and for me). He got to attend his very first friend birthday party. MOPS is not a big thing around here, but there is a very small group that meets once a month and I decided to join it. I've only gone to one meeting, but it's been such a blessing and Ben has really hit it off with a couple of the boys. One of the boys had his birthday party and Ben got invited. After almost a year of feeling pretty unconnected, it was amazing to be there watching Ben really interact with some other boys and to get to have some comfortable conversations with other moms at the same time. This past year has been such a season of loneliness and this weekend felt so normal and fun. God is good whether I'm lonely or not, but I'm thankful for His blessings of new friends.
Today is an exciting day! We have officially made it through what in my opinion is the worst month of the year if you live in winter weather land. Once we hit February, it feels like we are on the downhill slide toward Spring. Woohoo! But it doesn't look like January is going out without leaving her mark. We are expecting a major ice and then snow storm in the next few days that will probably mean not leaving the house again until Thursday. You can bet Benjamin and I will be doing some major reading, crafting, baking, and playing. Maybe I'll even take some pictures. :-)
This past weekend was a fun one for Ben (and for me). He got to attend his very first friend birthday party. MOPS is not a big thing around here, but there is a very small group that meets once a month and I decided to join it. I've only gone to one meeting, but it's been such a blessing and Ben has really hit it off with a couple of the boys. One of the boys had his birthday party and Ben got invited. After almost a year of feeling pretty unconnected, it was amazing to be there watching Ben really interact with some other boys and to get to have some comfortable conversations with other moms at the same time. This past year has been such a season of loneliness and this weekend felt so normal and fun. God is good whether I'm lonely or not, but I'm thankful for His blessings of new friends.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
This and That
It's snowing again today. I think I get spring fever every time it gets above 35 and the snow melts. But then I get my reality check two days later when we get another 5 inches of snow. I'm getting a bit of cabin fever from being cooped up so much. I keep seeing facebook status updates of people doing outdoor things and I'm super jealous. But, I will say that despite the cold and the yucky driving conditions, it is really pretty. I'm so incredibly grateful for the beautiful view we have out our apartment windows. Snow can get so ugly after a few days of being driven in, but not having a view of the street at least keeps it pristine white for our view. I have to keep it positive so I don't go crazy. Hahaha!
Ben started Kindermusik today. He's been super excited about it for weeks. All morning he kept asking me when it would be time to go. Then it finally was time and we got there and he went in and didn't participate in anything. I figured he was just observing but would be excited to tell me about it afterword. Sometimes when something is totally new, he does tend to stay back and observe. But when it was time to leave, he told me he wasn't coming back ever. He told his teacher that he wouldn't see her again because he was never coming back. I asked him why, but he didn't have any reason, so I guess maybe the winter doldrums are getting to him too.
I'm so determined to be a more consistent blogger this year, but some weeks just don't seem to have much in the way of blog worthy activities. So, since I'm cooped up inside due to snow and I'm completely in the mood to bake, I'll leave you with a few pictures of Ben's cupcakes from his adoption party last week. And then I'm going to go work out before I figure out something fun to bake today. I'm thinking homemade soft pretzels might be in order.
Ben started Kindermusik today. He's been super excited about it for weeks. All morning he kept asking me when it would be time to go. Then it finally was time and we got there and he went in and didn't participate in anything. I figured he was just observing but would be excited to tell me about it afterword. Sometimes when something is totally new, he does tend to stay back and observe. But when it was time to leave, he told me he wasn't coming back ever. He told his teacher that he wouldn't see her again because he was never coming back. I asked him why, but he didn't have any reason, so I guess maybe the winter doldrums are getting to him too.
I'm so determined to be a more consistent blogger this year, but some weeks just don't seem to have much in the way of blog worthy activities. So, since I'm cooped up inside due to snow and I'm completely in the mood to bake, I'll leave you with a few pictures of Ben's cupcakes from his adoption party last week. And then I'm going to go work out before I figure out something fun to bake today. I'm thinking homemade soft pretzels might be in order.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Happy Adoption Day!
So today we are celebrating his third adoption day. Ben and I spent an hour this morning looking through pictures from our first time of meeting Olana, his birth, his first few months after birth, and pictures of his finalization. He's starting to ask more questions about adoption now. He's still very much at the age where he just takes it in stride like it's no big deal. I love the little ways he's grasping it all and I love getting to share the way that God brought him into our family. Today as we were looking through pictures of his placement ceremony, he was asking me if we were sad. I still cannot look through those pictures without getting emotional. So I tried to explain to him how much Olana loved him and how she chose us to be his parents, but that it broke her heart not to be able to be his mommy. Just explaining it all to him makes me so amazed at the strength it took for Olana to make and follow through with her decision. I am so blessed to be able to be Ben's mommy.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Christmas Recap
Well I'm a week late, but Happy New Year!!!
We enjoyed some great family time and times of rest over Christmas this year. This was the first year since Ben's first Christmas that we got to be with family and it was so much fun! This was also Matt's and my first year to stay up late putting together a Christmas present for Ben. I think we were a little crazy given that we are in an apartment with limited space, but we got him a train table and so far, it's been a hit. And while it was not Ben's first snow, it was his very first white Christmas and it was beautiful.
Christmas morning started off in our bed with the Christmas story. Then we ate a quick breakfast of cinnamon rolls and egg bake before heading to the living room for gifts. This may be the last year we can hold Ben off that long. As a kid I always remember hating it when we had to eat breakfast before we opened gifts. Haha! After having fun opening gifts from each other, we cleaned up a bit and headed to my parents' for Christmas #2. It was so fun to be close enough to spend Christmas morning at home as a family and then the afternoon with my family.
The day after Christmas, Matt and I headed to Indy with my sister and her husband to see Wicked. Matt and I had the opportunity to see it in San Antonio and we loved it so much we wanted Craig and Rachel to see it too. Grandma was kind enough to watch the boys so we could all go. Although it made for a crazy day after Christmas, it was lots of fun!
Monday we headed up to see Matt's parents and had a great time at their house. It's been quite a while since both his siblings were there at the same time we were, so it was fun to visit and to get to see our crazy cute little nieces. We had gift opening #3 at their house and can I just say that I had to go out and purchase totes to store all the new toys Ben got? But I'm grateful for all of them. He's had such a great time playing with all of them.
We came back home Thursday afternoon and got to have a few days to relax as a family and also catch up on some things before heading back into normal routine. I'm pretty sure I am spoiled forever by Matt having so much holiday time off.
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