10 Months

Someone lit up when I started snapping shots.

10 months today!

8/15/11

Here are adorable pictures of my 10 month girl! Really? Is this happening?? 10 months?! Craziness. But what a ride it's been. Each day I play with her and can't believe how blessed I am and how much I love this child. It's still only the beginning. She's fantastic :)

So here are things she's doing...

-Talking...a lot. Mostly jibber jabber but says "momma, dad, daddy, kitty, ducky, me," The ever favorites are also, "nah nah (no), bwe, and boogied"

-Walking and running along furniture

-Standing for several seconds at a time without holding onto anything (has stood and sat down without holding anything)

-Chases the cat a lot

-Bops to music...she bopped to Mumford and Sons tonight and was with the beat!

-Loves reading books! She can't get enough of books

- Is eating granola bars now

-Understands what I say...crawling to the bathroom when I asked if she wanted to bathe

....those are just a few things that she's doing. Can you tell I love her a lot? :) Just wait till her birthday party!

Crisp Air and My Life Lessons

8/11/11

I have to start off with how beautiful it is outside. I am loving this cool, crisp air. I love summer but it's been too hot to be outside with my girl a lot. This cool air makes me happy to wear sweatpants and cuddle up with a little blanket and good book....or laptop for blog surfing. Oh geesh.

So this summer has been busy. The past 2 weeks have been ridiculously busy. I have been so tired the last few days but have just kept going. It is good though.

Today is a great day to just stay home and relax. So that's what I'm doing...playing with my girl and relaxing when she takes a nap :)

Part of my exhaustion is due to emotions. There are several people in my life (to whom I'm close with..is it "who" or "whom"?) who are going through big trials. But guess what?? It's wearing me out too! ha. Seriously though, the other day I was exhausted from emotional burdens for other people. I have this growing passion to seek the Lord more and more, to do His work. I feel that part of my work is to bless others and help them during times of need. Someday I think the Lord is going to position Kyle and I to be able to help others with a place to stay and help others financially (Lord willing). This is one of the biggest reasons we want to be out of debt, so we can bless others. Even though we aren't out of debt now, don't have a large house, and don't make a bunch of money, it doesn't mean I can't bless others with what we have. So I've been asking God to for opportunities to share with others, and give like I would if I had a lot of money to spare. Guess what? He is answering that! And guess what? It can be hard at the same time.

It can be difficult to completely trust when you're spending extra money to help. But do I really need that extra bag of pretzels sitting in my pantry when I have 2 more in the cupboard? Do I really need to sit at home to relax when I can be helping someone else in need? Should I be watching TV instead of on my knees praying for a troubled situation, family, person in need? Is it wise to use extra money we get for our personal pleasure when others around me are in need of food, clothing, etc? (not saying you can't ever splurge on yourself but when it's every single time) Nope. I am called to do God's work and He is my Provider, He's my manager of time, He's my Sustainer, He's my Counselor. I could give everything away and He could bless me ten fold, or I could give nothing away and He could take everything away in an hour. I am called to a life of leaning and trusting in my Lord and Savior. I am called to be Christ's hands and feet.

That's my life and my story right now. I hope God is working on you and growing you right now. Here's a fun look at the pictures we got taken a couple weeks ago...love :)

I really like this one.

My cutie pie :)

Our family.

4 Years

Yesterday was our 4 year anniversary of...what? Marriage?! Wow! Can't believe it's been this many years already.....A little walk down memory lane is in order :)

Here we are at the start of a Johnson family vacation...I wasn't a Johnson yet but this was still early in our relationship. Can you tell? lol.

Here we are at college. So in love :)

Engagement pics at Liberty! Loved.

Wedding day! 7/20/07

One year picture married..fun times.

3 years of marriage and pregnant :)

Here is our little family...

...4 years later :)

What's for Dinner tonight (and dessert)?

7/21/11

Have you ever baked/cooked a lot in a day and wanted to share the excitement with others?? You wish you would have made it a dinner party...that's how I feel! I have a lot of food leftover. Hehe. Ok, to the point...what I made!

Grilled Chicken

Pesto Poppers-thank you, Steph Ebright

Salad

Pasta Salad...my hubby likes it a lot :)

Here are the pesto poppers. I made biscuit dough then put pesto and mozzarella cheese inside and closed it up. Here's a picture below...one is the biscuit dough, then cheese, then cheese and pesto, then closed up. Bake about 20 minutes and yummy! Not exactly low fat but you gotta have fun sometimes!

I also made cupcakes....wow. Thanks again, Steph Ebright! These are Martha Stewart's recipe, Billys Cupcakes. I made a strawberry filling for inside them instead of cherry. I may have used too much corn starch but oh well. They still taste great! Here's a picture...then I frosted them (which no picture of right now). I love cupcakes. They are my downfall. :)

So we have a lot of leftover food and cupcakes that have not been eaten yet. So people are welcome to come over and eat! lol. I always love sharing my food with the Johnson family for some reason....they always love my food. And I like that :) It's a little different with my family cause my mom is the "ultimate cook." So it's nice to have other people rave over it ;)

So there it is...hope you enjoyed!

Blueberry Muffin Recipe

7/17/11

Oh man....these are delicious! I had found this recipe a long time ago and have made it several times. But over the course of each time I changed bits and parts because it wasn't good enough. lol. I feel like I have completed my transformation and it tastes how I want it to! Basically, the whole recipe is different though. There is pretty much no fat and minimal sugar. Fantastic, eh?! I also used organic berries that I picked from a farm and organic oats from a local organic store. So here it is...enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 and 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup milk (I did 1/2 cup skim milk and 1/2 cup almond milk)

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp greek yogurt with blueberries

2 cups fresh blueberries

(Optional....2 tsp ground milled flaxseed)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray muffin tins or use liners.

2. In bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir in milk, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Fold in berries.

4. Spoon into muffin cups, 2/3 full.

5. Bake about 25 minutes or until lightly brown.

Tell me if you make them and how you like them!

July Fun Pics!

Abigail's 1st time at the beach...touching sand...and going in the lake water! 7/10/11. She warmed up to the sand after 5 minutes but did not "dive in." haha. She is so girly. Please excuse my tan lines...white thighs, ugh!

Me and my princess at our July 4th celebration. I love her! I love being a mom!

Abby and Jack. Best friends :) Chillin in the pool. Hopefully they stay best friends for life like their mommies! Tiree and I.....1 week apart and met when we were 4 years old. Jack and Abigail....3 weeks apart and met at birth. How amazing! I love you Tiree. I am so blessed to have a best friend for life!!!

This month is also filled with lots of birthdays! My wonderful niece, Marie, nephew Jack, BIL Chad, sister Angie, grandma Nan, and grandma Jan (Kyle's grandma). It's also my wedding anniversary!! So many things happening!! Love family and friends :)

Share the Goodness

7/11/11

Friday and Saturday of this past weekend was spent in Detroit with 2 of my best friends. So much fun! Tiree and I had Jack and Abigail with us and we did some shopping. We went to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market. A-M-A-Zing! Trader Joe's is a mostly inexpensive grocery store with no preservative foods. They have a lot of Organic also but mostly just all natural foods. I decided to buy some groceries and take them home. So Glad I did! Whole Foods Market is an Organic grocery store that was fantastic. It was huge inside and I could have spent hours there!! Anyways, here are a couple things I got that I am very happy about and wanted to share.

I have found a new love for Hummus. My hubby actually likes it too...double bonus! But this sucker is yummy and has like 5 ingredients in it. I have not found hummus around here without any preservatives. I put it on our chicken wraps with salsa yesterday. Delish!

Below the hummus is peanut butter. Now during my pregnancy I realized that I was craving this at the end. But I don't eat it anymore cause all the good tasting peanut butter has preservatives and hydrogenated oil (trans fat). I found this at Trader Joe's also and decided to give it a whirl. 3 ingredients and no oils, amazing! Seriously, why can't we do this here?! It takes just like the "normal" stuff I used to buy (Jiff) but I feel ok having some (it is high in fat naturally so I don't have too much!). Oh the goodness. These stores need to share the goodness around here. I will be making trips to get groceries in the future :)