Hilborn Happenings

Goat Milk Stuff

2011-02-11T09:22:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago I purchased a number of products from Goat Milk Stuff. I posted to that effect on Facebook and I had a number of friends request that I share my experience. So here I go. Our whole family has sensitive dry skin and Ethan can get intense eczema while mine is fairly minor. We have striven for some time to utilize hypoallergenic, simple and natural products whether it be personal care, cleaners, etc...

I have made our laundry detergent, household cleaners, and I even tried my hand and making shampoo...and failed...miserably:). Joel will pretty much never let me live down the shampoo making, even though it was during the deployment, and he never used it. He thinks it's hilarious that I was nuts enough to take that on during deployment, like life wasn't crazy enough...he may have a point...

Even with my efforts some of the ingredients were harsh on our skin (Castile soap to be exact) but I wasn't sure how to replace that ingredient. Enter the wonders of goat's milk! In goat's milk soap products the water is replaced by goat's milk and so the resulting soap is considerably richer and moist. Goat's Milk Stuff has just about every soap I want or need, they are reasonably priced, and they have a lovely story.

We ordered:

1. Purity bar soap

This works great! It's moist, gets everyone clean, lathers nicely, has simple ingredients, and was very reasonably priced. I highly recommend it!

2. Shampoo bar soap

Ethan & Joel love this one. I can't use because I color my hair. It lathers nicely and leaves their hair clean with a more balanced pH. They follow this up with an apple cider vinegar rinse and Joel is AMAZED at his scalp health! Winter is brutal on his scalp and he has little to no dryness with this winning combination:). I highly recommend it, especially for men, and those with severely dry scalps.

3. Laundry bar soap

The laundry soap substituted on our laundry recipe easily. The laundry has fewer issues with static, and it adequately cleans diaper laundry, as well as normal household laundry. We have less time logged with this product than the others because we just ran out of our old detergent solution and switched over. Thus far, it appears to clean clothing more thoroughly, or at least more consistently, than some of our previous homemade concoctions. I highly recommend it, especially if you are trying to remove allergic triggers or irritants from your laundry regimen.

4. Laundry stick

Stain treatment was one of our last laundry hold outs and I'm happy to rid our house off the blue goop. I honestly haven't used this one yet. I'm not a consistent pre-treater. But I look forward to using it soon. Sorry!

5. Unscented lotion

This one has been a bust thus far. I wanted to switch out my lotion because of concerns about petroleum's effects on your thyroid. Although I'm sure there is debate on the issue, my mom & sister have thyroid disorders so I would rather air on the side of caution. Unfortunately, this product has been a bust for me thus far. It may work better once it is warmer. The lotion is a solid at or below 70 degrees and our house really doesn't get that warm these days. I can rub small amounts off at a time but, not enough. I will try again in spring/summer and in the meantime I'm trying coconut oil.

I would love to hear any natural personal and home products you love.

He's Home!!!

2011-02-11T08:42:00.007-06:00

Photo by indystar.com

After nearly a week of weather delays, Joel came safely home on Saturday, February 5 at about 5:10am. A sweet friend stayed at our home so I could be at the hangar about 2:30 for the 4:30 flight. It was quite cold and there was misty rain but exciting nonetheless! I waited with a friend from the company who's husband was also on the flight. And we trekked out onto the flight line twice before the plane landed:). This time was a bit different then last time out there only because there were 2 Lifetime crews there following 2 families for a special featuring families experiencing their redeployment. It was hilarious because they were all dressed weather inappropriate and some of them didn't have much of a choice because appropriate attire would have interfered with their job:).

As we watched the guys de-board and walk past the family area (we're fenced in but allowed to watch them...no touching!) Joel again missed me completely but I thought he was playing it cool! The guys dropped their sensitive items (they carry rifles, etc... on their person off the plane to turn into their unit) on a tarp and got ready to form up to make their entrance into the hangar.

We all made our way back inside and waited for the ceremony to begin. No matter how many times you experience it, a Welcome Home ceremony is a really beautiful thing sight to behold. The excitement is palpable. Pretty much anyone you know at all is visibly excited for you and generally makes a point to tell you so. The soldiers pretty much all look exhausted and SO ready to have a break from redeployment drudgery for a few moments BUT, they are also brimming with anticipation.

The guys marched in and the general made some remarks, we sang some Army songs and then we had 15 minutes for, the colloquially termed, Hug-a-thon:). Joel always feels more comfortable to embrace then I remembered, with a deeper voice than I recalled, and a smile that actually makes an audible noise (I promise). Thankfully since our R&R was so recent, he did not appear to be a figment of my imagination! The family time ended quickly and it was time to part.

Soldiers loaded onto buses and families too. I went back to my car and made my way to the hangar where our brigade's soldiers would be transported after their paperwork and sensitive items were taken care of. Thankfully our brigade did a rocking job for this deployment's redeployment! We were in a hangar, not a tent, and our soldiers made it to the hangar lickedy- split! Of course, their bags got mixed with the other brigade on the flight so we waited an extra hour to no avail for bags. But even then, they did an awesome job. Joel finally got his bags 2 days later and his 7 day reintegration has been humming along since Sunday morning.

Joel & I arrived at home just a few minutes after Ethan woke up. As promised, Ethan had breakfast with Daddy:).

A sweet moment captured between my guys. A restaurant burger was amongst one of Joel's requests. It did not disappoint:)

It has not yet sunk in that this deployment is actually over. I'm not sure when it will. Amazingly it has already been a sufficient length of time for me to be thankful for the works the Lord has done in our family throughout this deployment. I'm thankful for the supernatural way in which the Lord of all bound us together regardless of time or distance. I'm thankful that we will have the opportunity to get away as a family and visit family and friends.

I'm just plain thankful.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. -Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

Books to read (and a documentary): Childbirth

2011-02-03T11:34:00.006-06:00

I am a big believer in normal birth. Ultimately the Lord has a perfect plan for every birth, and that is not always it. But I am a big believer in working towards that goal. To that end I had 2 books that were invaluable in preparing for birth, and 1 documentary.

1. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

The first half of this book is filled with birth stories that take place on the Farm*. The stories are varied and beautiful. The second half of the book discussed birthing techniques in detail. The book also shares fascinating statistics at the Farm and in the U.S. and how our births have changed during the 20th century. Her point is basically that our abilities haven't changed, despite obstetric "common knowledge" to the contrary.

I highly recommend this book!

*The Farm is essentially a commune in Tennessee that was founded in the 1970's and is still in existence today. They do many things themselves there, to include midwifery. They are well known for their collection of midwives that are trained through apprenticeship. It is common within this community to grow up attending the births of others in the community from a young age. Ina May is chief among those midwives and is an extremely respected individual in the field of midwifery. Although our world views differ, they have some valuable insights into what is natural for your body and what is not. I genuinely wanted to have a Farm midwife delivery Ethan but alas, we're about an hour outside of their serviced area.

2. The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth

The title is a bit condescending, and the book can be just that at times. However, the information contained within it is invaluable! Henci goes through different elements of birth, mostly focused on interventions, and discusses the statistics associated with those interventions. The intent is to help you make an informed decision about all aspects of your birth. I used this book to sway my OB in Houston to leave Ethan's umbilical cord connected until blood was no longer pulsing through it. Of course, I ended up delivering with a midwife in Tennessee but it was a great nonetheless. I was able to give her bibliographic references from the book on hand that day. And then at our next appointment I had printed off the referenced medical journal article for her perusing.

I highly recommend this book!

3. The Business of Being Born (Documentary)

This documentary was suggested by the all knowing Netflix;) based on my other viewing interests. I watched it the first time with rapt attention and this was all after our miscarriage a before we were pregnant with Ethan:). I have since watched in probably 5 times with various family members. The intent of the documentary is discuss how birth practices have changed over the 20th century in America and how that effects us as a people. It also shows several birth experiences. I love this movie, it's statistics, it's stories, and I will watch it with you happily if you're interested! It cracks me up but Joel and my brother-in-law Dylan are such big believers in this documentary and the information contained therein, that I have heard both of them spouting off it's information to all kinds of people:). I also had a blast watching Joel sharing his passion with a soldier friend, in the middle of their office! It was quite an amusing scene to hear the back and forth of 2 Infantryman touting the wonders of natural childbirth!

I highly, highly, highly recommend this documentary!

Mooched Mommy Idea: Prayer

2011-02-03T11:21:00.004-06:00

4. Prayer

What I'm about to say may sound common sense to you but it was revelatory for me. As Ethan has grown older and more verbal we now give him an opportunity to pray aloud at night in addition to our prayers. He was so excited to talk about Jesus but, a bit shy to decide what to say. I figured this was to be expected and he would have something to share eventually.

A few weeks ago I was reading a post on Baby Bangs and Amanda discussed her nightly prayer with her daughter that is a few months younger than Ethan. Somehow, it really had not occurred to me that I should give him a simple prayer to repeat after me for his own individual prayer...Sad but true. My hope is that the reason is not total ineptitude but rather my lineage as a Butler pray-er:). You see, my family's prayers are characterized by their length and extreme inclusion. I love it!

It's so amazing to see how excited Ethan is every night to pray his prayer. For now we are keeping it short and sweet: "Thank you for loving me, Thank you for dying for my sins, Thank you for Mommy & Daddy, Thank you for Lady, and Thank you for this day. Amen." My favorite part is that we build toward the thank you for Daddy like a crescendo and then Ethan adds in where Daddy is right now:). I finally convinced him last night/this morning that Daddy is in fact, coming home!

"Don't Make Me Count to Three!"

2011-02-03T11:10:00.002-06:00

This book rocks my socks off! I started in months ago right after completing Shepherding a Child's Heart but I took a break as I digested all the goodness from Shepherding. I went back and finished the last little bit this past week and wow. Just what I needed! The concepts are not different, both are focused on the heart and how our parenting bends our children toward a need for a Savior. The big difference I experienced was that Ginger Plowman had some very practical means of application from a mom's perspective.

I highly recommend this book!

Mooched Mommy Ideas

2011-01-27T22:53:00.006-06:00

Ironically enough I'm mooching the Mommy idea of Mooched Mommy Ideas:) from my friend Sara over at Domestic Goddessing.

Idea #1
Pool noodles as bed bumpers.
It's brilliant! Ethan squirms a lot in his sleep, a trait he inherited from me, so we had been padding the floor with pillows. Now I have a pool noodle on both long edges of the mattress and it works like a charm! They fit nicely under his sheets and he loves to sleep nestled in a spot anyway.

Idea #2
As many tiny potties as it takes to keep potty training moving forward.

I don't know where I read it, or maybe Ashley told me about one of her friends doing it? We only used 2 potties but having one in the car was invaluable when we were still training. Thankfully I think I can safely say that Ethan is trained fully in step 1 and moving into full training of steps 2 & 3. Wahoo!

Idea #3
Homemade yogurt

Ethan loves yogurt! I, on the other hand only like soy yogurt, but I digress. Ethan loves yogurt but buying the whole milk, non sugary stuff is pricey when he's eating 1-2 a day. Plus, when Joel's home, he loves yogurt too. Enter homemade yogurt (duhn dudha duhhhh!) Making homemade yogurt makes you feel like quite the culinary master, a bonus, and even better it's easy! I've tried several different methods but the Crockpot method is, by far, the easiest. My only down fall with this one is cutting off the yogurt supply to take a little bit and start it all over again. This coupled with making sure that our milk supply is sufficient:). When you have plentiful clean, non wonky smelling/tasting yogurt abounding in your house, there are SO many ways you can work it into your cooking! There are certainly recipes that call for it but you can also use it as a substitute. If you don't like the consistency of your yogurt consider straining it for more of a greek yogurt texture.

Books you should read

2011-01-25T23:10:00.004-06:00

I love to read. It's a simple pleasure really, one that I have long enjoyed. In recent years, with lots of moves and not a ton of room to store books, I've gotten more organized in my reading pursuits. Try not to make too much of fun of this...

I keep a running list of books I want to read. I read reviews on the books, a lot of reviews. Then I look for means to procure said book. Is it at the library? Can I get it through Paperbackswap? Or is it one I'll need to buy? As a result, I've still had some lemons but there have been loads of lovely novels and even more nonfiction books that I want everyone I know to read. So, in the spirit of my friends the Pitts, I'm going to start sharing some of my favorites of late.

I'm going to start with some that have come up a number of times in this season of life, ones that I am constantly going back to. Parenting books.

1. Shepherding a Child's Heart, Ted Tripp

If you have not read it, it is a book that very aptly points you as a parent to focus on the heart issue's involved in your child's behavior. And a great deal what that starts with is understanding your own heart issues. I think that for anyone that reads it, it's an eye-opener to your own sin, but in a good way:), and one you could read every year and find great utility each time.

2. Wise Words for Moms, Ginger Plowman

This one isn't really a book but rather a pamphlet or reference sheet. Nonetheless is a great tool for parents. It hold a list of heart issues the heart attitude you desire to produce instead. The root of the heart issue and then multiple verses to address it. It's an easy reference tool and I keep it on our fridge.

There are a few other parenting books that I am in the midst of reading or are in my stack to read, so I'll get to those soon enough.

Homecoming

2011-01-24T21:48:00.003-06:00

Welcome Home ceremony 2008 (Ethan was there too!)

Joel should begin his flights back home from Afghanistan at the end of this week and we hope that his Welcome Home ceremony will be sometime next week?!

We are so excited to have Joel home for a long period, and thankfully it hasn't been that long since we last saw him. As we are wrapping up our 11th month of deployment and looking towards a reunion with Joel I've been reflecting on this year. What have I learned? How did the Lord use this time in our lives? Why didn't I post on the blog;)? Am I a better or a poorer parent after this year? Is Ethan better or the poorer as a result of this year? What will life look like as a family of 3, all together, in the same house, possibly for 2+ years?!

November 28, 2008: Just a mere 5 days before Ethan's arrival.

I'm not sure what the answer's to those questions are. But I'm certainly looking forward to finding out! And I'm thankful to know that whatever separations we go through, whatever rottenness there is in our hearts, He never fails.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. -Psalm 73:26

To Ethan, on the occasion of your 2nd Birthday!

2010-12-03T08:10:00.016-06:00

**Well I'm nearly 2 months behind on posting this because I have tried in vain to post a darling video of Ethan on his birthday:). Hopefully I will fix the video but, in the meantime I wanted to get this published!

Sweet Ethan, You are 2 years old today. You are such a sweet boy and so helpful around the house. In the last week you've decided that you want to sit at the table in a chair for your meals, you've tried out sleeping in a bed more, you are doing great with potty training, and you are putting your dishes into the dishwasher?! Your daddy is particularly impressed with your dish clean up skills! Your daddy has been gone for 9 months now but he begins his journey home today, on your birthday!!! Your language has exploded over the last few months and it seems at this point that you can say just about any word you set your mind to:). Some of my new favorites: bible, I love you (only for Daddy for now), sewing, giraffe("wrap"), and on and on. We will celebrate your birthday with Daddy, family, and friends next weekend but today you & I had a little celebration for breakfast. Here's a little video from our morning. I love you big boy!

Vivat Veritas $50 Guest Giveaway

2010-09-08T13:10:00.000-05:00

Vivat Veritas $50 Guest Giveaway

...One last blouse...for now

2010-04-29T15:04:00.002-05:00

This should be final blouse to sew for a good long while. I have had fun participating in Made by Rae's Spring Top Week and the entry period ends tomorrow! I submitted all 3 of my blouses that I've made in the past 2 months, per the rules...plus I had never made a blouse for myself before that:), and I think I'm ready to move on to other sewing projects. I have made other things of course, some I still need to take pictures of, and some need to be completed! This blouse is made from red cotton gauze fabric from Simplicity pattern 2594, view A. I made the matching belt that went with it but it made it look like a cheesy mall top...you know the ones I'm talking about. I sort of liked it with a wide braided brown belt slung around the hips but alas, even after childbirth my hips are a little too narrow to show any waist definition in a drapey blouse belted at the hip area. I like the tunic as is with skinny jeans or leggings.

I LOVE the gather and back yoke of this blouse!

The wind kept distorting the neckline. It's not assymetrical, but it is meant to drape thanks to the oversized neckline and shoulder pleats.

Now, what should I make next?...

Potty training update

2010-04-18T10:10:00.002-05:00

Since my first post Ethan has continued to use the potty! Some days he actually uses the restroom and sometimes not. We usually only have any actual "action" once a day but it has happened multiple times a day, a few times. Of course he's gone days where he sits there but doesn't do anything also. He does LOVE sitting on the potty so that's a victory right there:).

I need to suck it up and let him run around naked (on the bottom half at least) for a day so he'll really get used to recognizing the urges and desiring more distinctly to eliminate in the toilet. We shall see if I buck up the courage. We've tried periods of the naked training, with Ethan barricaded in half of the house without expensive rugs:), and it was fruitful.

This will definitely be a process but hopefully he's learning.

What I've been sewing so far...

2010-04-18T09:31:00.005-05:00

I have collected photos to post about all the sewing I've been up to but...well I've been sewing so posting hasn't happened until now:).

My deployment sewing started in Houston. I bought 2 blouse patterns before Joel left and brought them with me and then Mom, Ashley, Katherine & I (those are 2 of my 3 sisters for those of you that are not aware:)) set out to make blouses! We had great fun going to a fabric shop in Cypress and then working on the tops. I finished one top while in Houston, although I remade it a bit once I got home. Ashley & Katherine started their tops while I was there and mom helped and sewed because they didn't have skirt weight fabric, like she wanted, at the store where we shopped.

Top 1:

Please forgive the wear wrinkles. Note the grosgrain ribbon accent at the neck.

After completing this top, Simplicity 2593 by Cynthia Rowley, I have a few conclusions. I make my sewing life difficult often in my fabric choices. My very talented seamstress of a mother thankfully cut out the pattern pieces for this top taking care to match up the fabric pattern. I picked this pattern because it was a simple top to put together and it looked chic. The neck piece was the coolest part of the blouse. But when I made the turned neck piece and attached it, it was WAY too heavy! I am on a kick of making blouses because there is a blog I read that has a bit a top challenge in May and they entries are going on now. Another "contestant" made this blouse but in a Georgette. My conclusion is that I should have made this top in a lighter weight fabric and that I might need to reinvent this top one more time before I'm satisfied.

Top 2:

I LOVE THIS BLOUSE!!!

Isn't the button detail sweet:)?

So this top, Simplicity 2892, turned out beautifully. It had A LOT more volume in the sleeve then I anticipated from the pattern drawings but I love it. I used a quilting weight cotton which is a no no for fashion pieces technically, but I think it gives great drama which works with this girly top. I tend to go for more simple blouses when I'm buying clothes but when making them, I suppose because I can control the lay of the flair, I'm drawn to the girl! The button closure in the back does not appear to have much function but I like it all the same. This top is really made when belted. I took some shots of it sans belt and it looked, well, eh.

I have also made Shortalls for Ethan that I have not photographed, but that he happily wore to church last week:).

I am also finished on 2 projects: Top 3, and a Jedi Robe for my nephew. Now I just need to troubleshoot what the problem is with my serger and the Jedi robe will be all ready! I'll probably wait to post any pictures until it gets to the little Jedi himself:), I don't exactly have the frame of a 4 year old boy for modeling...The 3rd top was almost complete last night. It needs some pressing, armhole hems, bottom hem, and some staystiching to finish.

More to follow...

Oh and, ONE MONTH DOWN, WOOHOO!

Potty training

2010-04-07T20:48:00.003-05:00

A few months ago we made the transition to cloth diapers. There were a number of motivations but one of the primary motivations was to make Ethan more aware of his elimination and hopefully prepare him for potty training. We knew we wanted to start early but there wasn't a specific timeline. I have noticed some signs that he is ready of late, he can tell me when he needs his diaper changed, dry diapers, he can hold his stream, etc...

Today Ethan had his 15-18 month Well baby appointment and I discussed potty training with my favorite nurse. She was very encouraging and said if we're ready to give it a go. So while we were getting some items at Walmart we bought a little potty as well. I thought we would just try sitting on it and maybe mimicking would be fun and that would be that. Later today I sat Ethan on it before his bath and encouraged him to urinate in the potty. He sat on it, and was quite pleased with the whole experience, did nothing and then got in the bath. Once his bath was over I asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty again and he said yes so he did.

Ethan urinated in his potty. No. Lie. I'm amazed. We'll see how the process goes but I'm just so proud. And so was he. I don't know how regular of an event this will be but I'm excited nonetheless.

What the walker is doing lately

2010-02-18T09:12:00.005-06:00

Ethan decided this weekend that walking should act as his main mode of transportation. We have been enjoying the fruits of that change of events...mostly:). Yesterday he tried to walk out the front door and down the step while Joel and I carried a piece of furniture into the house...yeah.

Below is a sweet video of Ethan walking around and banging his maracas while appropriately wearing his I (Love) Music shirt.

Ethan is walking!!!

2010-01-27T23:03:00.003-06:00

Today our sweet Ethan took his 1st, and 50th steps!

He has been slower in warming up to walking then I expected. But of course, his Mimi was right on the money. She gandered that he would be walking by 14 months. Ethan will be 14 months next week:).

I am working on uploading videos and pictures from my camera. I don't think I was able to catch him on it. But, here is a really grainy cell phone video that I did capture. Yes, I'm just that high-pitched...it's not exactly a truth I love to be confronted with:).

I know that this means a whole new level of activity, worries, and abilities. It's an event where we get, "It's all down hill from here!" But I hope we're able to keep in mind that Ethan is growing and changing into the man God has designed him to be. It will mean his life gets more complex, as does mine. But I am just thankful that he can walk today. I'm thankful that he gets to experience the world in a whole new way.

Random cooking discovery

2010-01-21T15:08:00.005-06:00

I felt the need to share and I decided the blog was the best place for it:). I have always loved to cook and it's been a skill I have worked to improve upon since we've been married. Along the way I turned into someone that my mom giggles at because I try to conserve food so extremely, a trait of my dad's that I abhorred as a child! I was a picky eater and I was loathe to eat any meal twice, much less three times?! Now, oh now...I save everything. It's mostly the product of adulthood and the realities of food purchases versus our food consumption. But in the last few years it has become a stewardship issue for me. That if I am trying to honor God in the way I utilize the resources He has provided then I need to be keenly aware of the efficient and effective consumption of said resources.

So now to my food discovery. We had friends over on Martin Luther King, Jr. day for ribs and hot dogs and it was a delightful event. I also made guacamole for us to munch on before, during, and after lunch:). After everyone left I neglected to promptly stow away the giant bowl of tortilla chips before they went stale. Fatigue set in and well...cut to the next morning and a bag and 1/2 of chips are seriously stale. I have adjusted to a number of less than desirable states of food in my adulthood but stale chips...gross!

So I hopped on the Internet hoping to find a recipe or some sort of use for stale tortilla chips. I found a wealth of information! I can use it as a layer in a Mexican casserole, as a crumb coating for chicken or fish, etc... The basic premise is to treat them just like homemade bread crumbs. But the most intriguing morsel of information I found out there on the Wide World Web, if you just bake your chips for 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven your chips will come out just as crisp as when you opened the bag?! I was, am, and likely will be, amazed that I have gone 27 years without knowing this nifty little tip. There are countless tortilla chips that could have been consumed if only I had know. Maybe this is old news or maybe this is a revelation to you, nonetheless, I thought it was worth sharing!

Ethan's 1st Birthday!

2009-12-03T21:17:00.002-06:00

Today is Ethan's 1st Birthday.

Ethan, in 34 minutes at 9:53pm, you were born. We are so thankful for the opportunity to be your parents. You are sweet, smiley, expressive, boisterous, strong-willed, strong, and oh so fast. You Papa and I are amazed at the way in which the wonders of your life show us the wonder of Christ's creation.

This month you are obsessed with pulling up, cruising, sorting, stacking, matching, pointing, working on more words, and you've started to let go and try independent steps (you need to get a little stronger yet). Your Papa was working away for a while and he was AMAZED at how you advanced in that time.

We love you so much, and we love every new milestone and phase. Although, we pray to hasten the day that your milestone will be salvation. Oh what a joy that will be to witness.

Happy Birthday sweet angel!

Listening to the still quiet voice

2009-11-07T23:05:00.007-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted. And, basically since Ethan started crawling I haven't been posting regularly. While Joel's been gone this fall I've had a bit more time to contemplate. For me, too much time to think usually isn't a good thing:), but God is always working.

I'm a big fan of rules, order, keeping everyone safe by following the rules. And yet, God never said that His way for me, or my family would be safe, or orderly. Instead He said it will be just where we're supposed to be, just what we need.

If I've ever talked to you about our life in the Army, you've probably heard me talk about how Army life affords us the unique opportunity to come face to face with our dependency on God's sovereignty in our lives. And I do truly believe that. And I do truly believe, at any given moment that I'm striving to live that out. And then God shows me yet another area of my life, where I've drawn the boundaries and said but I don't have to trust you here because I've got this area covered. It's plenty safe. It doesn't real need to be a God thing.

When Joel leaves for training, I am forced to face the reality that his next deployment is closing in on us. As nutty as it sounds, the combat part isn't what's getting me right now. I suppose the Lord has chosen to keep him safe thus far, and who am I to worry about the inevitable danger he will be in?! But now, I am a scared parent. Scared that I can't be enough for Ethan. Scared that he won't melt in Joel's arms when he comes home. Scared that I'll resent him for missing a year of Ethan's life for a job I know he is called to. Yet, there is a real part of me that wants loving Ethan and I to mean that this job isn't worth it. It's so hard for me to comprehend leaving Ethan for a weekend, so how can he leave for a whole year?! Even beyond that, how can he want to leave.

And yet, the still quiet voice says, "Have I called you to this place?" "Yes Lord." "Then that is all you need know."

Tomorrow is our 6th anniversary. Joel is out of contact for the next 2 weeks+. I am more in love with Joel now, then I have ever been. I am deeply thankful for the Godly husband, and father that he is, and for our sweet Ethan. I know that God has our steps laid out for us, and it's not for me to worry about how inadequate I am as a mother, or how Joel's time away will effect his relationship with Ethan. Ultimately, I make God smaller every time I doubt that He is big as I know He is. He's got this. I'm the one who needs to let it go...yet again.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-13T23:06:00.004-05:00

Today we had a lovely outing, with Kirsten, to a local pumpkin patch. I believe that the last time I visited a pumpkin patch was on a Butler field trip or preschool field trip, is that right mom?

Yeah, not our best shot. A nice gentleman took this photo of us...without the best results. But, we captured the moment:).

We also ventured into the corn maze, a new experience. While we didn't cheat and cut through the corn rows, we did end up exiting the maze at the entrance. So we made our way around the maze...talking all the way...I'm not ready to admit that our chatting had an effect on our navigation;).

Ethan had a wonderful time sleeping during most of our visit. He woke up just as we were finalizing our pumpkin choices and he LOVED the pumpkins!

At first we were trying to capture him and he kept being distracted by all the bright orange "drums" around him:). So, we decided he needed a pumpkin in front of him to play with if we wanted to get a photo of him! All in all it was an easy, inexpensive outing, and one that will continue to get more fun through the years as Ethan, and subsequent children, grow.

Clearing out the digital camera: Videos

2009-10-06T20:33:00.005-05:00

This video was probably from 2 months ago shortly after Lady had her last haircut. We had been having trouble with Lady scavaging Ethan's food while he was eating it in his highchair. We had ended up escalating the volume of our voices in exacerbation. Not productive. And definitely not the sort of example we want to set. So we went back to a training technique we learned in her puppy obedience classes many moons ago-the spray bottle.

Shortly after Ethan gained proficiency at hands and knees crawling, he started to discover his room. In anticipation of the play opportunities that he would have with bins of toys within his reach, I reorganized his room a bit for our crawling man. So, I heard some noise in Ethan's room and came in to discover he had taken his block bin out and was tasting his blocks one at a time:).

I wish I had captured Ethan's first go round of this exercise. He was absolutely SLAMMING the highchair. He had a delightful time all along, as you can see in the video.

Ethan is 10 months old!

2009-10-06T20:17:00.004-05:00

Ethan was 10 months old as of Saturday. He is still in love with crawling as his mode of transportation and is not super interested in practicing walking. Instead, he is very interested in crawling, sitting, and dancing. Then, sitting and figuring out how to manipulate objects. He loves to try anything that makes lots of noises and involves banging. He tries to make drums out of lots of items. He also spends a lot of time dancing on his knees and singing to himself. It's neat to see him develop his own play, and of course, play with Lady. Ethan is finally more interested in assisted standing. He really enjoyed standing early on and then, I suppose because he is so proficient and speedy at crawling, he become downright opposed.

Ethan is saying his own version of: yes, that, Lady, Daddy, Dada, and Mama. Some words are clearer than others but, it is great that he is getting to a stage where I tell him the name of an item/person and he attempts to emulate the sounds. Ethan is also waving with abandon and more clearly communicating when he is ready to get out his highchair.

I cannot believe how close he is to being 1 year old?! It was so delightful to see his cousin Ella 2 weeks ago, and marvel at what we have in store in a mere 5 months.

Baby Sam

2009-09-23T11:54:00.004-05:00

UPDATE: Baby Sam was born healthy and they are still figuring out if he will need any surgery or treatments. Thank you for all your prayers.

A friend of a friend is 37 weeks pregnant and just discovered that their son, Sam, has at least one serious heart defect and will likely require immediate surgery. I have added Sam's button to my left sidebar. Please feel free to click on the button and read more about Sam's story from his parents. Please pray for the wisdom of his medical providers and parents. That his heart defect would either be healed or else, that is something that can be healed. Finally, pray that Sam's family is a light for the Lord in the way they approach the thrown of Grace throughout this trial and entrust their son to Jesus.

Ethan is 9 months old!

2009-09-03T20:57:00.003-05:00

Thanks to my neighbor for supplying these photos of Ethan and Sophia. Ethan is into kissing girls these days:)...oh man!

What a sweet boy!

Wow, I am seriously remiss. My last post was when Ethan turned 8 months old...

It has been a wonderfully busy month!

Mom and Dad came to visit at the beginning of the month and we had a lovely time, I will post about that soon.

As far as our sweet little man well he's busy! He still prefers to have us close by, really he wants us within touching distance:). He has made the transition to full on hands and knees crawling and now he's lightning fast! He spends a great deal of time taking books off of shelves to taste every book and bang them against each other, taking clean clothes out of the laundry basket for shaking, and attempting to yank cords, a CO monitor, and safety plug covers, out of the wall. He now eats lots of different table foods and needs 3 meals a day. Cashew butter+____ is still his favorite food option. I am particularly amused by his plum skills. He likes to suck the essence off of paper thin slices and then, and only then, chew them up. Ethan is also having more temper tantrums but part of that is a 9 month ramp up, part of it is a need to eat more frequently, and part of it is temperament. I am certainly in a place of prayer asking God to make me calmer as he ramps it up, I am the model for how to handle his emotions...with the Lord's help:).

Ethan still hates being in the nursery at church on Sunday, and chapel during Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) bible study. I am toying with the idea of scrapping the nursery all together and just keeping him with me...any suggestions?

I love you my sweet Ethan, you are a joy and a blessing, and I'm so thankful to be your Mama!

Ethan is 8 months old!

2009-08-03T14:07:00.004-05:00

Ethan tried blueberry pancakes this weekend! He mostly likely the texture in his hands:).

Today marks 8 months for Ethan.

I probably say it every time, but I am amazed at how quickly he has grown! He know looks much more like a toddler than a baby, losing his chubbiness in all but a few spots. Ethan also sports a 4 pack so just be ready if you tickle him because there are abs of steel waiting to deflect your movements:).

Ethan is very vocal, loves commando crawling all over the house, enjoys chewing on purse straps and electrical cords, and loves to scrunch up his nose and give a toothy grin

whenever you catch his eye. He is still very attached and concerned that we are around, but he's becoming slightly more independent and just all around content.

He LOVES Lady and has recently realized the fun of holding onto her tail, eating her tail, and tugging on her tail. Lady also LOVES Ethan but she's not such a fan of his new tail fascination:). Thankfully, she handles it well and her biggest disobedience regarding Ethan is TOO much fascination with and willingness to interact with him.

Ethan has also become more interested in other children when we're out and about. A few weeks ago we went to a sit-down restaurant, a rather rare occurence, with an Aggie friend. While we waited for our table Ethan yell-talked for about 5 minutes straight until the 2 toddler girls across the way noticed him. Then he stopped...oh man:).

Ethan is LOVING the baby wrap, as am I, and we now spend a great deal of time split between the baby wrap, and him crawling. I think it's a funny juxtaposition but whatever works!

He is trying more and more solid foods and although his appetite is supressed from a virus, he has been surprising me with both the frequency and amounts he is hungry for.

Joel's work schedule of late has afforded us more opportunity to add in more to Ethan's nighttime routine. For some time Joel had been getting home at or after Ethan's bedtime, 7pm, and so I was generally scrambling to get him bathed, fed and in bed. That led to a slightly overstimulated Ethan when he initially went down, which led to his panic and fighting sleep. Now we are all doing baths, prayers, reading his bible. After I feed him he calmly falls asleep...well most of the time at least!

My mom has shared a great deal of wisdom with me but that was one of the parenting morsels that I have most recently savored. She wisely identified that part of my constant struggle against sleep as a child, well lets be honest here as a Rachel:), had to do with an insecurity I felt that I might miss out on something or someone. She read after I was past the age of necessity, a suggestion that both parents be part of the nighttime routine. The idea being that this instills a sense of security in the child that mama and papa are here now when I go to sleep, and they'll be here when I wake up. That seems to be exactly what Ethan is fretting over. So, we are working towards making him feel secure.

I am so thankful to be your mama Ethan. I love to see your smiles, receive lots of kisses and sweet cuddles. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us next!

Urgent need for Stellan prayers

2009-07-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

UPDATE 9:48AM Tuesday, July 28th
Stellan is stable, praise the Lord! He has finally had some significant breaks in his SVT because of massive amounts of heart medication in his system. He just had a blood transfusion and his kidney function isn't so great but he is not in immediate danger. There are still plans to fly him on a medical transport, along with his parents, to Boston for another ablation. It is likely that this surgery will help his current heart trouble but cause others that may require open heart surgery. Please pray for his bodies continued endurance and that the Boston plans would be finalized soon. While we're at it I think we might just pray for a miraculous ability to repair Stellan's electrical pathway without damaging his AV node. God's name is known through our response to time's such as these.

Stellan has now been in SVT for 3 days and his body, particularly heart, function is deteriorating. His core temp is low, his extremity pulse is thready, and his heart is no longer supporting his kidneys sufficiently to function. They were recently able to get his blood pressure up a bit but he still needs intervention. Right now they are not even sure if they are able to get Stellan to Boston for another surgery or not. Please pray for IMMEDIATE wisdom for Stellan's doctors. That they would come up with a solution for the time being for his condition. Pray for endurance for Stellan's heart and body, that they would have the ability to stand up to the beating this SVT is having on him. Pray for his family that is now traveling to be with him that they would safely and quickly arrive. Pray for his parents in particular that they would be his best earthly advocates with clear minds. Pray that the Kangaroo care they are now engaged in would help keep Stellan warm and his body enduring.

God has certainly brought me to my knees this morning. Please pray. If you would like to keep updated you can do so through MckMama's blog or her Twitter page. I'm not a Twitter user but I am following her tweets continuously this morning. There are also MckMama supporters that have started a Prayer Chain ala blog to see more prayer posts.

Sick

2009-07-26T11:21:00.003-05:00

Thankfully, we don't get sick very often in our household. Colds occasionally, sure, but fevers are quite rare. But today, and last night, Joel has been sick. He is currently running a temperature of 100.5.

In Butler women temperatures that is nearly your deathbed;) since my normal temperature is more like 97.2!

He even relented to a bath last night. You have to understand that I have been trying to sell him on the wonders of baths for the entirety of our marriage. I was quick to break out the peppermint oil and such. And of course, he kept Ethan's tugboat in there to keep things manly (name that TV show)! I was pretty excited. But anyway, he is currently out of his covers feeling stifled but I'm sure we will be covering him back up with blankets and quilts soon enough.

Ethan is thus far separate from the sickness and is crawling all over the house oblivious to Joel's feelings of crudiness. Let's hope it stays that way!

Turkey Spinach Ravioli

2009-07-25T21:35:00.004-05:00

About 2 years ago, after slowly but surely cutting out more and more foods from my diet, I cut out all cow's dairy. It was hard but it made a world of difference. Towards the end of my pregnancy until now I have been back on dairy although still in moderation. It makes life A LOT easier:).

But while I was living non-cow's dairy, I had to get creative in my cooking. For anyone that has ever had to cut dairy out of their lives, Ashley I'm talking to you:), any amount of prepared foods that you were accustomed to buying are in all likelihood outside of your diet. You see pretty much everything has some milk product in it. Whey is particularly popular as a commercial thickener. So even filled pastas from the grocery store were off the grocery list because of their contents.

Thankfully, I love goat cheese.
If you don't I'm so sorry for you because it is creamy and delicious!

Whether you have dairy issues or not, you will love these raviolis!

INGREDIENTS
1 Onion
6 cloves Garlic, minced
1 lbs Ground Turkey and/or Hot Italian Turkey Sausage
1 package Frozen Chopped Spinach (defrost and press out water with paper towels)
6 oz Goat Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
I package Wonton Wrappers (preferably round)
I glass of water for assembly

DIRECTIONS
Add onion to a saute pan and saute over medium-high heat until the onions begin to sweat (If you are using a nonstick pan there is no need for oil but otherwise you will need a tablespoon of oil in the pan before begin to saute). Add the meat and de-cased sausage to the pan and begin to brown. Now add in the minced garlic begin careful to keep it on top of the meat so it does not burn. Continue to cook the meat until all the pink has disappeared. Drain any fat out of the pan and then allow the meat to cool for a few minutes. In the meantime, add the spinach, goat cheese and salt and pepper to the food processor bowl. Now add the meat and pulse until a thick paste is formed. You want the filling to be able to hold it's shape but it should not be dry.

To assemble your raviolis layout wonton wrappers on a baking sheet and spoon a generous teaspoon of filling onto each wrapper. Now set aside a stack of wonton wrappers, and wet your finger in the glass of water. Wet the edge of the wonton wrappers and then place another wrapper on top and press with your fingers to seal the edges. It may be necessary to press down the filling some to make the shape easier to close.

After all of your raviolis are made, allow them to set out to dry for 20-30 minutes to dry slightly. This will help them to hold their shape and not stick to each other too much when they are cooking. If you needed to, you could complete this process ahead of time and refrigerate them or freeze them in their current state and just cook them before serving.

When you are ready to serve, prepare a stockpot of boiling salted water. Cook raviolis in batches, making sure that there is sufficient surface area with each batch. The cooking process will likely only take 1-2 minutes for each batch. Remove to a platter as they cook, and cover each layer with marinara sauce to prevent sticking. Once all of the raviolis are cooked, pour the remaining marinara over top, or reserve to serve on the side. Enjoy!

My Pathfinder

2009-07-25T00:59:00.005-05:00

This morning Joel graduated from Pathfinder school! I am so proud of him and man, am I thankful that God knows all there is to know about sling loads and landing zones! Each time Joel has one of these important Army schools to complete, we are afforded another opportunity to remember that it is not by Joel's ability but God's that he will get through it:). We are so glad that it is over and I know that his company is happy to have so many soldiers graduate.

This isn't a particularly informative picture. But it is a familiar sight for the family members of military personnel. You've got to love how hard they work to rid themselves of their neck?! You should have seen the way Joel had to screw up his face for the Fish "mean face" his freshmen year in the Corps...I did my best to keep him from making it in front of me...seriously.
Yay for diplomas!

Ok, also not very informative. I actually have no idea where Joel was in this formation:). This was after the graduation ceremony. Joel's company, Pathfinder company, sent 20 people through the school and 12 made it! The school previously had about a 15% pass rate?! So the Battalion commander was happy with their preformance, and letting them know it.

Congratulations Joel, I'm so proud of you!

Pray for Stellan

2009-07-25T00:41:00.002-05:00

Sweet Stellan is having bouts of SVT again. Not only that, he is experiencing drug toxicity, and other electrocardio issues. Currently the plan is not surgery but an experimental drug combination that is currently understood by his doctors to be exclusive to Stellan. The long and short is that Stellan and his family need to be blanketed in prayer! Please visit MckMama and keep up with Stellan's progress. It has been amazing over the last several months how God has stretched my heart through the blog world! Blogs can afford exciting opportunities to reach out in the body of Christ and far beyond.

Sunburn...this white girl should know better

2009-07-21T22:54:00.003-05:00

"See what had happened was..." It all started with a Mommy & Me swim class. I was thrilled to read about it on the MWR Aquatics website! I convinced my neighbor to go with me and we were all decked in our swimwear with babies in toe. We decided to be extra healthy and walk through our neighborhood to the indoor pool where the lesson was to be held. We thought we really had it all figured out...Joel would have been proud of our planned early arrival:). The lesson started at 11am, so we decided to meet at 10:15 to begin our walk. The thinking being that we could get there at least 20 minutes before the class started to pay and generally get ourselves and the babies settled, brilliant no? We got there 30 minutes before the class starts and find out that the class has been moved to another pool! Apparently we weren't the only ones that didn't know about the location change since 2 other moms showed up right after us:). Anyway, I have now dreamed about this class and planned a great deal for it so I'm bound and determined to attend! My neighbor, not so much. But poor thing, she still had to put up with our walk back to our house. A walk which I took in true Butler woman fashion, at break-neck speed! I made the walk that took us probably 10-15 minutes on the way there in about 5 minutes on the way back. I quickly got Ethan into his carseat and threw our bags in the back and headed down the road to the other pool. As I was driving I realized that I had switched the sunscreen, which I liberally cover all organic beings with when more than 5 minutes will be spent outside, out of Ethan's bag...Thankfully, Ethan had an SPF 50 rashguard shirt on and a hat, so he was covered. I decided not to turn back, knowing I would get a little burned but it's only a 30 minute class right?!...

Well...45 minutes is all it takes folks. Especially when you're a white girl like me, and I'm talking color not ethnic generalization, that should know better. Also keep in mind, as I mentioned earlier, that this class was at 11am. For those of my readers that are tan and unaccustomed to sunburns, let me enlighten you as to the significance of that particular time of day. between 10am and 2pm the sun is at it's highest point and that is also when the UV levels are at their highest. Hence why I make it a point to wait until after 2pm, especially in Houston:), to spend extended time out in the sun. No matter how much sunscreen I have on, I tend to burn during that time period.

So the moral of the story, enjoy Mommy & Me swim class, but know that you'll pay for it later! Also, keep Vitamin E capsules on hand to slather on burns, that is why I'm so shiny! The burn wasn't awful but it was bad enough and the Vitamin E really helped my body to heal. Also, interesting to note, I may or may not be slightly allergic to the sun. I know, it sounds sad and hermit like...I tend to be rather sickly after extended sun exposure. The morning after this I woke up all stuffed up and sluggish. I'm just sayin'!

There's a monkey an Ethan on your back!

2009-07-15T22:36:00.012-05:00

Our next door neighbor was kind enough to let us try out her Sleepy Wrap last week. Ethan LOVES being cuddled up in a wrap and I have enjoyed the opportunity to get more done around the house! Yesterday I was catching up on much-needed vacuuming. You see, Ethan used to sleep through the sound of the vacuum-awesome right? Then he grew out of that, so I adjusted. I would clean while he played in the jumperoo or on a quilt. Then separation anxiety set in and things got complicated. Then the sound of one of the vacuums began to terrify him...So it had been too long since I had vacuumed:).
Ok, so back to the wrap. We had slowly been working our way through different wrap positions. It took some doing on my part, but we worked out the back carry wrap. Ethan giggled, babbled, nuzzled and generally amused himself. While I vacuumed the rug, and all of the floors. Instead of having a full-on panic when the vacuum scared him, this time he just nuzzled in between my shoulder blades:). So sweet. Needy. But oh so sweet!

It looks like I teased my hair and hairsprayed my bangs from this angle...ahh the wonders of being big-haired;)!

Wow, I started this post last week but I needed to go to bed so I saved it...and here we are...

Since I started this post I picked up a Navy cotton interlock remnant of 4 yards for $5 so now Ethan has at least one wrap all his own and maybe 2! Otherwise, I'm using the rest of the fabric to make a nice cotton dress. I don't have any pictures of the new wrap yet but we did try it out and he fit beautifully. If any of you out there are interested in a baby wrap don't spend $40-60 buying a Moby or a Sleepy Wrap! Just buy 4-5 yards of cotton interlock (if you want a fabric with stretch) or a thin, non-stretch fabric. All you have to do is cut down the middle to make the wrap between 25-30 inches wide! I am not currently planning on hemming or finishing my fabric since the how-to's I have read suggest that it was unnecessary for them. I may make a slight modification to the tails so it's easy to tie, we shall see. And if I do chose to make that modification, then I will likely need to finish the edges I taper. Either way, make your own wrap and enjoy! It has certainly made my "cuddly" baby easier to handle and my arms and back aren't quite so exhausted:). In other baby wrap news, I used Joel as my guinea pig for trying other back carry methods I found on You Tube and well...just watch...

A very amusing laundry basket

2009-07-14T21:39:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I was working on a whole bunch of clothing and household laundry so I was in and out of the room. But thankfully Ethan was completely self-amused. I didn't know what I owed the pleasure to, as I worked, but I certainly appreciated hearing sweet babble rather than ear-piercing screaming and crying:). When I got back into the living room Ethan had tipped the laundry basket and filled it with his stacking cups (basically his favorite toys-ever) and then swung the whole basket around, one-handed, like a pro:).

Tangential question alert. Are, palming a Fisher-Price train while propped up on the other arm, or swinging around a laundry basket when seated, normal developmental abilities? Or is my child gifted with superhuman strength?!?! Superhuman strength you say? I thought so.

So back to the laundry basket musician. Ethan continued to enjoy the laundry basket music after I reentered the living room and I was able to catch a bit of it on video.

Do you think we look related;)

2009-07-10T22:07:00.008-05:00

Ethan at 6 months old:
Me somewhere between 6-12 months old: So what do you think?

I think I definitely need to scan some pictures of Joel to compare as well.

Nut butter through the ages

2009-07-10T20:50:00.010-05:00

I made a cryptic reference today, in my most recent Facebook album, about how much Ethan is like me in his nut butter messiness, as evidenced in the above picture. As I said there, anyone who is related to me, or has spent enough time around my family to hear stories of me as a toddler, knows exactly what that means.

Alright, prepare yourself, because this is going to be a Rachel story;).

I am the 4th of 5 children, which I love and wouldn't have any other way! However, one of the hilarious, and only sometimes annoying, parts of having my birth order is that EVERYONE was there to note and retell my silliest moments. Not only that, since my brother is 13 years older, and my sisters are 10 years and 5 years older respectively, they were more than likely participants in changing my diapers, feeding me, and helping out with me in various ways. So really there love for me is deep and wide (Did anyone just have VBS/Children's Choir flashbacks because I just did!)...and learned;).

One of the favorite family anecdotes about baby/toddler Rachel is how much I loved _____& Peanut Butter. I apparently liked peanut butter on pretty much anything. I had a healthy and adventurous appetite at first and I wasn't shy (I theorize that this anecdote caught due to my extreme picky eater-ways that set in years later). Apparently I really went gaga for buckwheat pancakes with peanut butter and syrup...I know...I will pause while you judge my palate;)...I also spend a lot of time eating cheerio and peanut butter "sandwiches". On our trip to Houston Ashley recounted fondly that it was her job to sit at the ready and assemble "sandwiches" with a deft 2-part swiping motion that she demonstrated for me. The next part of the story, invariably includes the fact that no matter what I chose to pair with peanut butter that day, I always ended up with it all over me! Caked in my beautiful hair (I'm just telling it how I've always heard it:)) and all over everything else. Something, like this, or maybe this, note the JIF jar in the forefront:). So it should have come as no surprise, nay, my heart should have immediately swelled with pride, when my beautiful son slathered himself in cashew butter the first time I served it to him on some Wasa crackers. I know what you're thinking, what kind of hippy dippy trippy mother are you?! Let the boy have some good ol' American peanut butter on Ritz/saltines/graham crackers/bread?! I know, I know. I STILL love peanut butter and Nilla wafers as a meal. But, my nephew has a peanut allergy. And, as many of you know, peanut allergies are scary. And the risk is higher for Ethan since his cousin has it so...no peanut butter for him...until he's 3. As Ashley would jokingly say, at this point, "Poor Ethan!" And just because I've kept you for so long with my story, here are some additional photos from Ethan's cashew butter initiation:

Ethan is 7 months old!

2009-07-06T20:21:00.002-05:00

He was 7 months as of Friday:), close enough! Ethan is so much fun and we are thankful for the new and interesting ways he is developing. In the past month he has gotten more interested in crawling but he only goes backwards:). Ethan's is most definitely asserting his strong personality and a stubborn streak. The most recently he has decided he no longer wants to use his hands and feed himself, although he was fully capable 2 weeks ago. This has went to the point of him refusing to eat cheerios unless I was putting them in his mouth. Suffice is to say, we sat on the quilt for 10 minutes with him fussing and refusing to close his hand around cheerios or open his mouth to the cheerios in his hand...yeah:). He has also started flirting with strangers more and more and I can't get enough of his gap tooth smile! Ethan talks, and talks, and talks some more. He also can cluck with his tongue and he will try to get just about anyone to cluck back at him and praise his trick:).

He had such a wonderful time spending time with his cousins and he really took some developmental strides after watching all of them. It also made us wish that we lived closer to home and/or Ethan had siblings. Not anytime soon but nevertheless. We bought Shepherding a Child's Heart thinking we were ahead of the parenting curve and now we REALLY need to bone up on Godly discipline and parental understanding. Thankfully, we also have a wealth of wise Godly parents to lean on.

The Great Et Han

2009-06-30T23:09:00.005-05:00

Our family returned yesterday from a wonderful trip home to Houston. I have a lot of pictures, and anecdotes, to share. But for today we must start with the legend of Et Han.

To give you some background, my brother-in-law Dylan is really big on nicknames. He delights in spending copious amounts of time arriving at the perfect nickname. So, even before Ethan was born, Dylan has been working on his nickname. He decided a few weeks ago that he would be Et Han (pronounced "E T Han"). When we came to Houston last week, Uncle Dylan proceeded to work his nickname branding magic by creating a whole elaborate back story for The Great Et Han. This video below shows a little snippet of the "lore" surrounding The Han as he also became known.

The best part of the whole thing, is that Ethan's "Han-like" stories, which are much like Chuck Norris "truths", are incredibly infectious! Joel, some friends, and myself, ended up telling our own Han stories to add to the lore. It was delightful and stinkin' hilarious! Thanks Dylan, I know Ethan will appreciate the special way you set him apart through this. Plus, hopefully he'll get a kick out of seeing this video someday!

Thanksgiving

2009-06-15T20:15:00.002-05:00

God is perfect. His timing is perfect. His knowledge is perfect.
And then there's me:).

We moved to Fort Campbell in August 2008 and although we have certainly met some lovely and Godly individuals, building true friendships and a sense of community has been a struggle. It has certainly been our heart's desire but it just has not been in God's timing for us just yet.

Last week in Believing God the study was delving into what it means to believe that God can do what He says He can do. Specifically the focus was on how God works such miracles and wonders in our lives if we will just ask. It is certainly not news to me that God can and will work miracles in our lives and that we are called to bring Him prayers of thanksgiving for the works He does in our lives. And yet as we came together and shared the miracles that God has done in our lives, in the last week, month, year, I was struck by how much more there is that He does for which I fail to thank Him.

So this week has been a spiritual discovery seeking new eyes to see God's wonders and miracles in our lives. Along they way I may have reached a new level of surrender about our friend struggle OR, God just decided it was His perfect time, or BOTH! This past Sunday Joel and I were absolutely in sync all through Sunday school and church, feeling as if we really belonged. Ethan has had a tough time being left in the nursery of late. We have had to leave church after Sunday school or during it the last several weeks because Ethan is such a sobbing mess and we don't want to distract the pastor. But this week, even though Ethan still cried when we left him in the nursery, we have a plan to make Ethan feel secure in the nursery!

The nursery workers and volunteers are really getting to know him better, which is such a blessing. Ethan calmed down and played on the floor with the other kids once I sat with him. Soon enough, he didn't notice that I was there. After a few minutes I successfully exited the nursery and caught the last few minutes of Sunday school! Then we had another meltdown a few minutes into service... but we have a plan for that one too:)!

So that was a bit tangential but I was thankful that there are ladies that care for him while we are in church and that are getting to know his temperament and heart. I was thankful that our Sunday school is getting to know us and we are getting to know them.

Then on the "home" front, I have FINALLY made a neighbor friend:). All of our neighbors on the block have moved in the last month or so and we now have a whole new crop of neighbors. And with each moving truck, new hope was fostered in my heart:). Last week I brought some bread to my next door neighbor, whose daughter is 2 months younger than Ethan, and invited her to walk with us. Today she took us up on the offer and I discovered that she is a nice Christian woman and she wants to walk every morning:). It was so nice to converse in person with someone other than Joel...or Ethan:).

So here I am offering up some blog prayers of thanksgiving. For doing what He says He can do. In His perfect timing he has brought us into a sense of community here at Fort Campbell. And for that I am thankful.

Mama

2009-06-05T20:04:00.002-05:00

Today, Ethan said Mama. He has said it 1 or 2 isolated times in the last week but I wasn't sure if he was just making M sounds or not. Then today, he said Mama and kept saying it! Once he saw how excited I was at his new trick he embarked on a marathon of mama's and mamamamama's. He even seemed to be using it with cause (yes I'm aware how INCREDIBLY biased I am) and said it when he wanted my comfort or my help. I'm still a puddle of loving mush as a result of all this.

Tooth # 3

2009-06-04T13:56:00.003-05:00

Ethan cut his top right tooth this morning! He was REALLY fussy last night and early this morning, waking several times and being rather unhappy about it. Then he slept in and woke up at 8:30! When we checked, sure enough, his tooth had broken through and he was obviously feeling much better:). He has been very cheery this morning. There isn't much to photograph just yet but I will be sure to get some once the tooth is more visible.

And just because I love you and I know you are hankering for an Ethan fix, and I KNOW you don't leave within driving distance, here are a few funny shots of Ethan seemingly helping Joel out on his laptop. Seriously cute.

Hi Mama!

Ethan's outdoor adventures

2009-06-03T16:00:00.008-05:00

Can you tell since this is my 3rd post within the hour that Ethan is taking a marathon nap?! 2.5 hours and counting...
We probably should have tried this sooner but we it's only been a month since it's really warmed up but we had not moved beyond putting him in a stroller. This past weekend we set up a quilt on the oh-so-soft grass on our front lawn and played with Ethan. Once we got out there and I saw how much Ethan LOVED it and mellowed, I remembered how my nephew Jackson would do the same thing as a baby. But in Jackson's case, he was born in Houston, in the spring, so they figured that temperament out a little faster than we did! Ethan laid on his back and stared at the canopy of trees with awe,
this was his view. The outing went so well that Ethan and I went out Tuesday afternoon to enjoy the yard again:). Ethan had a fun process of exploring that I was able to chronicle. There was excitement, then he decided to roll himself closer to the grass, and calm contemplation.
Ethan LOVES rubbing the grass through his fingers!
And then Ethan made yet another move to surround himself by his new friend, grass:).
And then the final move, there was no quilt in sight at this point!
And then there was a little more tree gazing.
Now add to your image of all this, that I am firmly planted on the quilt with my bible study materials strewn about me. This was all taking place around 5 or 6 in the evening while most of our neighborhood was driving home from work. We got some funny looks as people drove by. I imagined that they saw Ethan in the middle of the grass, by himself, and me ensconced behind him and grimaced. What IS that woman letting her child do?! All well, he had a wonderful time, and so did I:).

Another haircut and eating out:)

2009-06-03T15:38:00.003-05:00

We are the old folks that went to lunch at 11:15 so we're the only ones on the patio at this point!

Ok, so I really cannot blame our lack of "going out" social time on Ethan. Joel and I were homebodies before becoming parents:). But, we definitely have taken it to a new level since his arrival! We also have a bit of difficulty figuring out what to do and/or where to find things in the Fort Campbell area. So, this past weekend I had another hair appointment with my wonderful stylist in Nashville. Whenever I have an appointment we make a day out of it in Nashville, a lovely city, and one that we do not spend enough time in even though we're less than an hour away. After my haircut we went to this very tasty New York style pizzeria across the street from my salon. And, because I get rather giddy when I get a restaurant experience so I took pictures to mark the occasion:).

Not the sharpest shot but I wanted to show Ethan's setup, his first outdoor restaurant experience, his Mimi will be proud!

Ethan's giving me the crazy eyes because he was sleepy and not interested in his car seat.

And this is the solution we came to, Ethan cuddled up while I ate...yep we're closer than ever these days:).

We had a great time in Nashville and the whole family was worn out by the end of Saturday!

Ethan is 6 months old!

2009-06-03T15:07:00.005-05:00

Today, Ethan is 6 months old. He is such a delight! Ethan has mastered sitting erect and unassisted so thoroughly that he is now working on continued mobility yet again:). For whatever reason Ethan decided to take his sweet time with all things rolling over. He mastered front to back rolling right before 4 months but, even though he could rock halfway from back to front, he didn't seem very interested. So about 1-2 weeks ago he began to roll easily from back to front and then combine it all! He LOVES my reaction when he gets going so he has made sure to make it a permanent fixture in his repertoire. So, now Ethan is combining scooting, rolling, and low-crawling to move himself all over the floor and the yard! He is also enjoying making new sounds by inhaling at the same time and quick little breath sounds like he's got his own private joke that only he gets. Ethan gets a real kick out of staring at himself, or us, in mirrors and he LOVES to hear "Mama", and "Papa". He is also starting to experience some separation anxiety so grocery shopping, household chores, sleep, and the church nursery have gotten considerably more complicated. This is of course not helped by the fact that he is cutting his next 2 teeth, the top fronts, and the right tooth will likely break through any day now. Finally, Ethan has started solid foods this past week! He has tried: brown rice cereal,
carrots,

green peas, This is what happened when Ethan sneezed with a full mouth of mashed peas:)

avocados, Ethan enjoyed wearing avocados as well as eating them:)!

and bananas. He really loved the avocados and the bananas but those were the last 2 foods we introduced so it is likely also because he's getting the hang of this. Ethan's favorite part of solid foods is hands down the sippy cup. He starts flapping his arms and making his little quick breathy laugh every time he gets sight of that cup! Ok, I know that was long but he's doing a lot:). Plus, I want to make sure I record all this while I remember it! I have a cute video of Ethan's first solid food meal that I'll post as well.

Strawberry Shortcake Cake ala Pioneer Woman

2009-05-20T20:00:00.003-05:00

Photo courtesy of Pioneer Woman

Ok, so I have thus far posted a lot of borrowed recipes but I'm working on balancing that out. Joel's family came into town over Mother's Day weekend and one of our outings was to a local farmer's market. It ended up being only 4-5 sad little folding tables worth of produce but we did get some yummy strawberries! So, after a few days I needed a means to use the remaining fruit. As timing would have it, Pioneer Woman had the same issue at her house! This cake was yummy:) and not nearly as rich as I thought it might be given it has cream cheese icing. Ok, here is the recipe: Strawberry Shortcake Cake. Enjoy!

Chili

2009-05-20T10:38:00.003-05:00

I'm sure my mom got a big kick out of our conversations last week when I called desperate for some ideas on meals that feed a crowd. I fed dinner to my FRG, Family Readiness Group, at our first meeting. I need to prepare for about 20+ servings so I called up Dr. Butler. My Atoo, her mother, is probably one of the only people I know whose only version of her Chicken salad recipe makes 96 servings:). Needless to say, the Musick ladies know how to entertain! So, getting back to why I probably amused mom, I came set on the idea that I would make chili. My mom made chili on a fairly regular basis of course, but she always mashed up the beans so I wouldn't know they were there...that's right I have a bean issue as well. Well since I've been forcing myself/coming around the last 5 years, I decided chili was ok by me. The meal turned out beautifully and I felt I was back to my roots buying industrial-sized cans of beans and tomato sauce at SAMS for my ingredients:). Next time I make this I am trying ground turkey, it's a much better fit for the Hilborn family palate!

Chili

1 lbs ground beef or ground turkey
1 large onion, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
2 (15 oz) can tomatoes
1 t cumin
1 t paprika
2 T chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 t Worcestershire sauce
4 (15 oz) cans pinto beans
Cayenne Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes, to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in a large dutch oven, until they begin to sweat. Then add, the ground meat. Saute until the meat is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and turn the mixture on high until it boils, reduce the heat to med-low and maintain a simmer for 1-2 hours. Remove the lid and let the mixture thicken in the last 20-30 minutes of cooking. The chili will have thickness at this point but will still look more soup-like than chili-like. Let it stand for 5-15 minutes before serving. At that point, the mixture should be the perfect thickness!

Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry syrup

2009-05-20T10:27:00.003-05:00

Photo courtesy of Smitten Kitchen

If you've known me for any length of time, you know that I'm a picky eater. Ok, if you're my family you know that is the understatement of the century:). However, I now like to think of myself as a reformed picky eater. I had weird food quirks but I am attempting to work through them. One of those long-standing quirks was a dislike of blueberries. I know, you're thinking I'm nuts, they're wonderful?! Well you're right, they are but I don't even know now if I had ever tried them...and if I did it was long ago as a child...I mean they're blue?! Anyway, I discovered a serious love of blueberries in the last 3 years or so and I had some amazing blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup at Cracker Barrel, of all places, and it is the only thing I like at that restaurant. So I went in search of a recipe for me to make them same meal. Here are two and they are, Mwah! *four finger tips pressed to pursed lips then, release*, fabulous:).

Smitten Kitchen Blueberry Pancakes
Blueberry Syrup from a Recipezaar contributor

Thetford ideas

2009-05-20T10:03:00.003-05:00

All my best ideas come from the Thetfords. Ok, ok so all my best blog ideas this last week have come from them since Staci started a blog for them, yay! On said blog, she mentioned today how we used to cook together every Tuesday evening for my husband and her then boyfriend, now husband:), while we watched Gilmore Girls. I miss those days and the fellowship we enjoyed during the dates. But alas, God has placed them in Texas and us in Kentucky/Tennessee. So she decided to post a recipe every Tuesday in honor of our date nights. In the interest of stealing all her good ideas, I am going to catch up on posting recipes:). Some of these are my spin and one or two are completely borrowed. Don't worry my citation-minded friends, mom I'm taking to you now Dr. Butler, all those research papers and time spent on bibliographies will not be forgotten;). Regardless, ALL of the recipes are completely worth trying out!

As my wise mother so aptly put it, as she always does, I am now out of the fog. At six weeks postpartum I wasn't so achy and out of body anymore. At 3 months my hair slowed it's shedding and I was able to manage venturing out, my vocabulary started to return...slowly:). And since about 5 months postpartum, I have been back to my attempts at whole food eating, or at least making as much of our diet at home as possible. I have also gotten back into some sewing, like making Ethan cloth diapers. And then realizing that he wasn't a fan, nor was I! Ok, ok I've meandered long enough, back to food:). Because I am feeling so game to tackle real cooking, entertaining, etc...I have tried LOTS of new recipes over the last month or so. This may take me a few days but I am determined to get these all posted.

On another blog note, I am planning on taking a video of Ethan sweetly chatting, squealing, etc... soon in the interest of fair and balanced coverage of his emotional outbursts! Really that is how he spends most of his day but the meltdowns really are sort of hilarious. I know, you think I'm awful, but he is safe and ok just dramatic. And my hope is to give him LOTS of love but not reinforce that he can have a meltdown and every toy, blanket, etc... will magically be just how he wants it, where he wants it. Wow this post really meandered...ok, next post will be the first of many recipes!

Not Me! Monday, Part Deux

2009-05-18T13:05:00.002-05:00

Here is my second installment of MckMama's blog carnival, Not Me! Monday. And opportunity to tell about the slightly embarrassing events in your life that you may wish you in fact did not take part in.

This past week I did not take all of 48 hours experimenting with cloth diapers to realize that I am a HUGE fan of Huggies! I did not walk around with fingers that smelled strongly of zinc because Ethan has a diaper rash. I did not practically force feed Joel more roasted chicken and meatballs because we STILL had leftovers of them and nearly make him sick of both (two of his favorite meal staples around here). I did not purchase a whole new stroller travel system because I should have listened to my mom and sisters and purchased a new one in the first place, not me! But if I had done that, I would at least have gotten a well-rated system on sale that will now last until Ethan's 30 lbs., not 22 lbs.:). I did not forget my glasses twice this past week and run into another patron at the grocery store (granted the car seat doesn't help matters) and halfway grope my way through the store, that would be what a silly woman would do. Finally, we did not skip church yesterday because Ethan woke up early and so was still napping when it was time to head out for church. We're very serious about fellowship so we wouldn't do such a thing;). Have a wonderful Not Me! Monday.

"Not me!" Monday

2009-05-11T20:14:00.017-05:00

Ethan still freaking out now that he had what he wanted...

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, Ethan is really a fan of the freak out these days. I do think early on set separation anxiety plays a part in addition to the aforementioned perfectionism.
So, in honor of MckMama's ...I did not let Ethan wail so I could take a video of the meltdown for the blog, not me! I did not let him sit and wail several times today because nothing would make him calm down to the point where his whole little body was red, splotchy and covered in tears.

Sorry that this is sideways, I always forget that my videos cannot be reoriented!

I did not almost pummel several individuals during my errands today because I did not have lunch before running errands. I did not nurse Ethan in the car at SAMS after most of said errands and almost pummel a man 2x's my size when he rammed our car fender repeatedly with his grocery cart rocking our car...WITH US in it! Not me. I did not walk out the door without deodorant on Mother's Day.

Oh man, that was really cathartic. Have a wonderful "Not Me!" Monday.

Ethan's Baby Dedication

2009-05-10T23:46:00.004-05:00

Ethan's Baby Dedication took place today, Mother's Day. And what a milestone in Ethan's life! Joel's family was with us to commemorate the event. Our Pastor put it aptly as he described how much we ache as parents to be able to impart salvation on our children but alas that is now God's plan for humanity. Instead we commit ourselves as a family and a church body to strive to be like Christ for Ethan to show him the truth of Savior in our lives. I was humbled by the weighty responsibility but encouraged that there is already a fellowship, in our church home as well as family and friends, that are that to be Christ in his life.
On a much lighter note, Ethan looked so darn cute! Thanks Mimi & Pops, we miss you!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T23:31:00.006-05:00

Joel's family came into town this weekend and we were able to enjoy sweet time with them. Ethan LOVED holding court on his quilt surrounded by everyone!

Ethan was a doll on Mother's Day and we were glad we could share it with the Hilborns. Here are a few shots as we opened cards and gifts after church:

Happy Mother's Day!

Ethan is 5 months old!

2009-05-10T23:18:00.004-05:00

I am a week late but I wanted to write this post nonetheless. Ethan was 5 months as of Sunday, May 3. In this past month he has become very proficient at sitting unassisted and is now daily adding to the tasks he can accomplish while sitting up. Unfortunately, he has also spent the past month exploring his emotional side. He now throws sobbing/screaming fits if he cannot do something or he is in any way thwarted from his goal. Thankfully I can rest in the fact that God intended Ethan just for Joel & I as parents. Not only did he come by that temper from both us, sorry son, but we also are gifted with an abundance of bad behavior of our own to spur on our loving discipline. But man, it is rough having to abstain from reinforcing the cycle! He and I have had LOTS of talks about the appropriate ways to ask for help or to accomplish a task and that screaming is not one of those ways. I know he's 5 months old, but I don't want scream=mommy cuddles me to be what he learns from all of this. That being said, I do cuddle him plenty even if I do try to talk him down first!

He is such a happy baby, even with his fits, and I am so thankful to be his Mama!

Lets order up some praise today!

2009-04-27T20:56:00.002-05:00

Many people in the blog world have been reading about Stellan and I have kept a "Pray for Stellan" button on my sidebar for the last month. Well today Stellan was discharged from the hospital in Boston!!! His mother "MckMama" and Stellan are resting comfortably in a hotel while they wait for a flight home. So many have prayed for Stellan as he went through this harrowing 5 week medical journey. Now we can join in praising God for the work has done on this sweet, 6 month old boy's heart for the second time in his short life.

New Hair

2009-04-27T20:44:00.003-05:00

I cut my hair a little over a week ago but the only photos I had of the new do were on my phone. I just realized that I have a mini SD card in my new phone so here are the photos! I LOVE my new do, not my grays that I edited out,but I love my haircut. I am no longer shedding copious amounts of hair everywhere plus I just like the looks. I haven't successfully scheduled a color appointment yet but once I do, I'll be sure to post photos of that transformation.

The cuteness that is Ethan

2009-04-25T22:42:00.007-05:00

In the last 2 days our sweet Ethan has gone from sitting with assistance to sitting all on his own! I think I sealed the deal by letting him fall:(...just a little tumble backwards without Mama catching him seemed to be all it took for him to decide balancing was much more attractive! Anyway, we are now in the process of adjusting life to a sitting/creeping/almost free-standing baby.

This evening we tried to strap Ethan into his bouncy seat, which he occasionally tolerates, while we ate dinner. This is what happened:

That's right, he decided he wanted to sit up like everyone else! Joel strapped him in while I brought the food over and I nearly had a heart attack when I saw him and thought he wasn't strapped in, for how else could my baby be folded in half leaning toward me with a big grin on his face?!

He's growing up, that's how.

And just because I love you, here is a darling picture of Ethan from this past week before we went on a walk.

We've had some lovely, warm, sunny days and we decided to take full advantage...Well ok, I decided. Ethan still isn't sure what to make of the sun. My poor Tennessee baby. We are doing our best to bring out the Texan in him!

Ethan loves his Papa

2009-04-21T22:37:00.004-05:00

Joel has had long days these past few weeks while his company is completing EIB (Expert Infantyman's Badge) training and testing. So this has mean leaving at 5:30 and getting home between 7-8 at night. I know, all of my Army friends are thinking 5:30, that's when PT (physical training) starts?! Ah yes my friends, but that is when the training is starting, not at 9. Plus, we are spoiled living on post and Joel usually gets to come home, shower, eat breakfast, and he gets to see us for a bit, before heading back to work.

So that long tangential statement was all to say that Ethan is really missing out on some of his usual Joel time so he is getting really excited if Joel gets home before he goes to sleep. Today Ethan was so giddy that he accomplished a new "trick" in the pursuit of staring at Joel!
Ethan stood all on his own with no (human) support. And what's more, he did this for 5-10 minutes while Joel told us all about his day! With so much of his physical feats, knowing mothers keep telling us, that he will be an early crawler/walker but man...Be still my beating heart:). Oh, did I mention that Joel was crawling by 6 months and walking before 9...yeah...

The work of contentment

2009-04-15T22:53:00.004-05:00

This week has been one of those weeks when you wish your life was something other than it is...well at least in some ways at least.

My lists of wishes this week:

I wish I lived in Houston "right down the street" from my parents, all my sisters, my brother (in my wish world he has moved back from California), my in-laws, even my sister's in-laws!

~~I wish we had a second car~~ I wish we had a second car that was paid for in cash. Then, I could leave the house even if Ethan and I don't get up and leave the house with Joel at 5am.

~~I wish I had real friends at Fort Campbell~~ I wish I could have friends as wonderful and affirming as those I made at Fort Benning.

I wish I knew if what I'm wanting to wish away is God's refinement process for the work that lays ahead...it usually is...so I should probably stop complaining.


...everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-
-this is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:13 
I have a lot to be thankful for, a lot, but this week I wish for a few changes.

Now of course if you want to do your part in granting my wishes you could come visit us at Fort Campbell. Come on...you know you want to! I have an historical aircraft tour with your name on it, plus LOTS of Ethan kisses/chewing on you ready whenever you say the word.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T21:28:00.003-05:00

Ethan and Joel dressed up for church-so handsome!

He is risen. He is risen indeed!

Today marked a new milestone for us, we were back at church!

It definitely took us longer than we wanted but with the cold/flu season, adjusting to getting to places with Ethan, and my serious anxiety about leaving Ethan or being in service with our chatty angel:). But, today was the day that the Lord hath made for Ethan to go to church!

I absolutely basked in the corporate worship experience, it was wonderful and sorely missed. Ethan did beautifully in the nursery. He took a nap and otherwise handled it well. I may or may not have fared as well...I did ok but I was definitely itching to get to the nursery and get some Ethan cuddles! We really had not come set on our Sunday school before so we are going to work that out over the next few weeks and try our hand at leaving Ethan for Church and Sunday School...we'll see.

Toothy grins

2009-04-10T21:52:00.003-05:00

Alright prepare yourself for some major cuteness ala Ethan:).

See, I told you so! It looks a little harder to see in this size but Ethan is showing some beautiful teeth on his bottom gums.

4 Month Checkup

2009-04-08T21:32:00.002-05:00

Ethan is getting SO big:). Today he had his 4 month check up and he is 16 lbs and 25 in. Everything went well and we are on track to start solid foods (if Mommy can handle it, that is) at 6 months. Until then, we are probably still in the midst of more teething. Yes, you read that right, he is showing signs of additional teething! So we could 4 front teeth in the next month or two?! He also seems to be in a growth spurt so we're now focused on getting through both of those and keeping the little guy well fed and rested (as mush as is possible).

On another note, I am told that what he is already doing is considered a stage of crawling. Additionally, the sitting he is doing unassisted, although nearly folded in half, is also a real stage of sitting up independently. Apparently I'm the kind of mother that needs to be assured by an authority, be it the doctor or more likely my mother, that whatever development milestone I think he's working on is actually in fact achieved. I don't know why, but there it is.

I am very thankful that Ethan is happy and thriving, what a blessing from the Lord!

Jehovah Jirah, my provider.

2009-04-07T12:58:00.002-05:00

In these hard economic times for many individuals, Joel and I are so thankful for the provision and job security afforded to us through the Army. That being said, it is inevitable in the current economic climate to be more squarely faced with the responsibility to prepare our household for whatever situation may befall us. Being the household manager around here, and a bit of a money hoarder, I have had that on my brain these last few months. I worry about how much savings we have, how quickly we will be debt free, whether or not we should get a second car, whether or not we will buy a home when we stabilize at a post (if that's even possible) in the next 5-10 years. But I read something wise and comforting today on Kelly's Corner:

Today Jesus is my provider. I went to a little Christian school in 6th grade and in chapel we would sing a song about "Jehovah Jirah - my provider" and I have never gotten that song out of my head. Probably because God always wanted me to remember that he is my provider. He has ALWAYS provided my needs. I will never be rich and I'm more than fine with that - but God has taken care of me. The verse I love and that has been so true for my family is
Malachi 3:10.
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."

What peace there is in knowing that God will pour out blessing overflowing if I will only trust my family, my finances, my everything in Him. He will meet and exceed our needs if we will only trust. It is foundational and yet a continual process to live that out. So, today, as I head out to the grocery store with my coupons:), I will rest in His provision through every item that feeds our family and every dollar that buys it. I will praise Him for the child we have been given and the means to provide for Him, I will praise Him that we are in a safe, clean and warm house (it's in the 40's today?!). And I will praise Him that Joel has a job that he loves and that it is just enough for our family to live, give back and save for what may come.

Jehovah Jirah, my provider.

Ethan and the parentals:)

2009-04-06T16:14:00.003-05:00

Ethan is SO much fun these days, well, he's always been fun but he is learning and trying so much. As of this weekend Ethan is rolling over whenever he gets the chance, in his crib, on a quilt, anywhere and everywhere. He is also expressing his displeasure more readily when he cannot move where he wants or how he wants through screeching...and fits. He certainly comes by expressiveness and stubbornness honestly from Joel and myself:).

Another fun new "trick" of Ethan's is that he is really gaining hand dexterity. He can pretty much grip things that he wants when he wants and he is bringing his hands together beautifully. One of the by-products of his great hand dexterity is that he grips my hair to steady, my clothes, my lip, my nose, etc...

And in this sweet shot, Joel's ears were Ethan's hand holds!

Then, since it was Ethan's day o' shots with parents I decided it was high time I got a good picture with my little man! I am usually behind the camera capturing his every move but Joel obliged this time around.

Well there you have it, a good dose of sweet Ethan to finish off your day!

And we're reading! Well...being read to at least:).

2009-04-04T20:28:00.004-05:00

Ethan has not held much interest in books previously so I haven't pushed it. Don't get me wrong, he loves to talk and be talked to but I think it was the fact that it was happening at night, NOT his favorite time of the day. So he has seemed ready and listened to Joel read some of his book the other day so we bought some of his own books today! He happily sat through Where the Wild Things Are , a small picture book, and a chapter from The Jesus Storybook Bible.
Where the Wild Things Are is a childhood favorite and this was Ethan's first time to hear it! Granted, I don't think he has truly experienced the book until he's heard a reading from his Mimi...she pretty much does some of the best book voices ever...The Very Busy Spider well, you just haven't truly experienced it unless you've been read it by The Very Busy Spider ala Marilyn, er, Mimi!
It was also the first chapter of The Jesus Storybook Bible that Ethan listened to and what an important one it was, about the Fall of Man! If you haven't seen the storybook bible I strongly recommend it! It was a lovely gift from The Pitts and we have thoroughly enjoyed its content as well as it's beautiful illustrations:).

Ethan cut his 2nd tooth!

2009-04-03T17:32:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned with the last tooth, it is rather difficult to get a picture of Ethan's mouth open and him not moving around. Furthermore, it's pretty hard to see his teeth anyway on film! But, nonetheless, Here are Ethan's first 2 teeth:)! Unfortunately, the second tooth breaking through does not seem to have brought all of the blissful sleep the first tooth brought but its early yet, we shall see if he sleeps tonight!

Ethan's 4 Months Old!

2009-04-03T15:35:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe that our sweet boy is already 4 months old?! We have his 4 month doctor's appointment next week so I'll have his latest stats to share then. As far as his development is concerned he is quite the active boy:). He rolled over for the first time just before 3 months but he didn't do it willingly and refused to replicate:). This month he has willingly rolled over several times but he still is finicky about the act. He only rolls over in his crib...no one knows. However, he now loves to view the world from his tummy and his above position is his new favorite, doesn't he look cute?! I'm hoping to work in Paint.net on this picture to play with it, hopefully it will be successful and hopefully I'll post it soon. He also has great hand control now and brings his hands together and enjoys playing with some toys. Most of his interest in toys lies in whether or not he can chew on it...he LOVES the rattle but whines since he can't really chew on it sufficiently. He also has discovered how fun it is to steady himself by grabbing onto: Mommy's hair, Papa's ears, etc...He is sitting up nicely on his own but mostly with a little assistance. He is getting leaner, looking more muscular, and his umbilical hernia is healing up-yay! He fits just right in 3-6 month clothing and his 0-6 month socks are too small...so our little guy is still growing like a weed! He has been talking in goo's, baa's & "Hi," since 6 weeks but now he has add to his repertoire prolonged vowel sounds. These conversations last about 5 minutes at a time usually. I know, a shock that MY child is a talker;). Ok, I'm sure there is more but I'll stop. For now. Enjoy your weekend!

"Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"

2009-04-02T13:39:00.003-05:00

As you may have noticed, I have been tinkering with my blog layout over the last 2 weeks or so. I recently downloaded Paint.net a freeware program with much of the functionality of Photoshop without the hefty pricetag! Paint.net has afforded me the opportunity to create some design elements and backgrounds for the site. So, I am not thrilled with my blog layout quite yet but I've had a delightful time learning about digital scrapbooking free downloads (Sarah Pitts, I'm thinking of you ma'am:)) and editing HTML. I have left the blog as is for about a week. I mentioned to my sweet sister Katherine that I think I want to re-do the blog header and what was her response? "Yeah, well it's a looks a little bit like Buddy the Elf designed it."

Wow. So, I'm sorry blogging friends if I have recently assailed your eyes with my design choices;). I promise I'm getting better...and maybe a tad less colorful...well at least not so colorful all at once.

Also, cute Ethan pictures are on the way. Oh, and he's cutting another tooth. Yep. Right next to the first one. We're guessing, based on the first tooth, he'll cut it by the end of the week, Lord willing! After 4-5 days of blissful sleep Ethan adopted a newborn sleep cycle at the end of last week as this tooth began to surface in earnest. Boy did his Mimi call that one! So, I'm looking forward to the second tooth and some more sleep!

Barbie has tattoos...

2009-03-30T22:48:00.004-05:00

Maybe this is not news to you but it was to me. Matel has recently released Barbie® Totally Stylin’ Tattoos™ a Barbie with 40 tattoo designs that can be applied to Barbie...I know some lovely people who have tattoos, my husband for example. But I REALLY am not a fan. I definitely don't want to see my children getting tattoos and I most certainly will not be gifting anyone with a Tattoo Barbie!

Ethan is still very very young but, news items like this one make me stop and consider if some of the ways in which I safely experienced the world as a child are now appropriate for our children. Can my son, and subsequent children, learn to live his faith in a fallen world in public schools, or will there be too much mature exposure and not enough quality education? Is participation in certain merely social aspects of religious holidays, Santa, Easter eggs/bunny, etc..., a harmless social ritual or instead muddling their understanding of their God? And will I even be a mommy who can't give her daughter Barbie?! I was not necessarily in love with Barbie, and I never had the notion that Barbie was the personification of any real female but I did enjoy playing in a 70's era Barbie dream house :) (thank you Ashley & Jenny). I know there are LOTS of worries as a parent to protect, grow and nurture our children, to see them come to faith at an early age, and to have the opportunity to see that faith grow and flourish. I know that God gives us answers as we need them, so I needn't worry. I am curious though, what issues parenting issues are really gripping you these days? I know there were things that occurred to me before I had Ethan so, maybe what do you wonder about for your future children?

Enter the spit up zone with caution

2009-03-26T10:04:00.003-05:00

Our latest victim of Ethan's spit up (which has lessened now that the first tooth is cut and he's not so interested in feeding to soothe) was our dog Lady. Lady is recovering nicely, and is actually unaware that anything has happened to her...she generally likes whatever Ethan does:).

Made with love at Fort Benning

2009-03-26T09:58:00.003-05:00

Ethan is blessed to have been one of many babies that were born to new Infantry Lieutenants. In fact, he is one of 5, that began their gestation during Ranger school at Fort Benning:). So, one of our good friends Shannon sent Ethan this onesie. He is just now big enough to wear it and we are happy to show some Fort Benning pride! I miss my Benning friends and I hope to see ya'll, Raegan & Steven soon!

And the tooth has arrived!

2009-03-25T08:39:00.003-05:00

Ethan cut his first tooth last night and he slept through the night too:). It looks like the tooth breaking through has brought with it great relief. Ethan is back to sleeping 9+ hours at night and is now ready for a big boy nap schedule-I am LOVING all I can get done when he takes a long nap, including a nap for me! I made several attempts to capture the new tooth but its too close to the gums, plus he's a wiggle worm:). So, the above picture is more so you can visualize;). The tooth is on his bottom left and is nice and sharp! Thankfully I have only experiienced that when he uses my hand as a teether...

Teething...oh goodness!

2009-03-24T13:17:00.003-05:00

Ethan has a tooth just under the skin and its sharp presence can now be felt! Yesterday he started chomping on my hand, as he has often in the last 6 weeks, and I felt the sharpness of it on his bottom left. Who knows how long it will take to break through but it certainly makes his funky sleep schedule make sense! He's 15 weeks today so it is rather early but Joel and both of his siblings cut their first tooth at 4 months...mercy:)!

Wonder of cleaning wonders

2009-03-23T22:47:00.003-05:00

I do my best to not be taken in by marketing gimics and go out and buy the latest cleaning products but this one really caught my eye: Scotch Fur Fighter Hair Remover. Now I really wasn't as interested because of Lady but rather because I am STILL shedding massive amounts of hair 3+ after having Ethan! Yes, I have TONS of hair still but I end up coating the floors of the house, our furniture, my clothes...everyone's clothes, the car, and Ethan, with my hair. I have found solutions for most of those surfaces, well Ethan I'll just have to keep picking it out of his sweet little mouth:(, but the microfiber furniture kept getting my hair imbedded. So this handy dandy tool is fabulous:). It's basically just a sheet of the hook side of velcro and there are refills when it gets loaded up but it doesn't seem to happen quickly. The handle is a bit pricey for just being a stabilizer for the sheets but it's useful for us. I got a $2 off coupon o buy it initally and that came with a $1 off coupon.

The night before the night a tooth is cut

2009-03-23T10:12:00.002-05:00

I probably should have known something was afoot, but I'll chalk it up to being a first time parent:). Ethan is on a funky sleep schedule lately and it appears to have been partly from the hubbub of our trip but mostly because of teething. So, on Monday night, Ethan woke up at 11 after going down for the night. I fed him and thought that was that, then Ethan began an animated chat that lasted for the next 20 minutes or so! He wasn't mad but definitely awake! He ended up being amenable to going down after about 40 minutes but wow it was funny. Oh and of course, since this was a weeknight poor Joel had to be up at 5 something but he's a good sleeper so he just ignored us and slept right through it:)!

Here is a little bit of Ethan's continuous "Ahhh" talk. He talks often but this is a new thing to stick to a vowel sound and just come up for air:). Usually I get lots of "Hi's" and "Goo's".

Houston at last!

2009-03-09T22:40:00.004-05:00

Our days have been so full! As a result, this post will be light on words...yes I know, a Rachel first! I'm growing before your eyes;). Mom and Dad will begin the packing and moving process on Wednesday so we have had time these past few days to enjoy each other:).Ethan was in a great mood right before the plane took off. Our flight attendant was kind enough to give Ethan an extra seat on the plane so we capitalized on the opportunity:).

Ethan conked out as we took off and slept for 30 minutes, what an angel:)!
Ethan's first meeting with Pops and a reunion with his Mimi!

Praise the Lord for blessing us with the resources and ability to fly Ethan and I home to Houston for a visit. I only hope we will soak up enough quality family time to last us until this summer!

Grunt chorus

2009-03-06T09:03:00.006-06:00

Joel and Ethan had many funny moments last night! This was captured when Ethan launched into a chorus of grunts as he started to fuss to go to sleep and Joel just grunted back at him.

Presenting the Von Hilborn family singers

2009-03-06T08:57:00.006-06:00

Joel sang to Ethan last night and he REALLY loved getting into the act and playing air instruments along to the music, with Joel's help of course. I had to take a video of this precious moment.

Joel has his Air Assault wings!

2009-03-05T14:17:00.008-06:00

Joel and Tony-LT's for Pathfinder Co. and new Air Assault graduates

Yesterday Joel successfully completed Air Assault school and Ethan and I were there at his chilly graduation. Joel has Pathfinder school next on his school agenda after his company, a Pathfinder company so Pathfinder school is kind of important;), completes Expert Infantryman's Badge tasks over the next few weeks. Until then, we are thankful that he has this school behind him and it certainly is a great job skill. Just for fun I took some video of his graduation. The video I'm posting is of the students "pushing" in cadence because they didn't sing the 101st song well enough ...yeah...

Heading back to the motherland!!!

2009-03-03T09:49:00.003-06:00

Ethan and I are flying to Houston on Saturday:)!!! My parents are moving to a new house...that's right...after 36 years my parents are moving out of my childhood home and into a home that will more closely meet their needs as they exist today. I am so sad that our home will be someone else's house but I am excited for Mom & Dad. It is also a great opportunity for Ethan to meet his Pops, the rest of his Aunts and LOTS of cousins:).

I will post pictures while in Houston as we say goodbye to Oxhill and hello to Kennington.

If you are in Houston and you want to get together, drop me a line! I will be in town March 7-17.

Ethan is 3 months old today!!!

2009-03-03T09:34:00.005-06:00

Ethan at 3 months, 2 days

Joel and I are amazed at how Ethan has already grown and changed, he is SUCH a blessing. His current growth and development:

Weight-somewhere over 12 lbs officially, likely 14+ lbs
Height-somewhere over 24 in, likely just under 25 in
Development-He has been showing signs of teething for about a month and is now progressed to the point where he is gnawing on my arms, etc...and I am buying Orajel today because they are really bothering him...I'm in trouble! He sits up beautifully in the Bumbo seat and with assistance and can also sit in the gorilla sit by himself. He loves to stand and bounce in a jumparoo or with assistance and can/will do this for 30+minutes. He still HATES tummy time. He will fall asleep on his tummy instead, he actually sticks his fingers in his mouth as a means to escape "mommy torture" as Joel has coined tummy time;). He has the strength, control and understanding to roll himself over, he did it once for Joel when I was out of the room:( but he doesn't want to....he definitely was "gifted" with stubbornness throughout his bloodline! He actually spends more time scooting himself around the quilt then trying to roll so who knows, he may go right to crawling, that was a joke, but it may not be so funny when he follows in Joel's super-early development...He talks up a storm and has discovered that blowing bubbles, in his now copious amounts of saliva, is a GREAT pastime. He now regularly sleeps 8 hours at night, takes a 2 hour nap in the morning and a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon with several power naps in between. I've tried to manipulate his schedule to combine some of that and maybe make his nights longer but it backfired so I'm letting him progress at his own pace and stay a happy baby!

Here are a few more pictures of Ethan, the cuteness abounds!

So, what was your baby doing at 3 months? Any suggestions of ways to combine Ethan's naps or make him happier during tummy time?

Artichoke & Spinach Pesto

2009-03-02T18:21:00.005-06:00

This recipe was also inspired by a recipe from Giada. My take on it is to take from some of the yummy flavors in a Artichoke & Spinach dip but without the calories from mayonnaise, cream cheese, etc...We love to serve pesto as an appetizer at dinner parties, a base for sauce to toss with pasta, or to flavor chicken in a pasta or salad dish.

1 (8 oz) pack frozen artichoke hearts, thawed (or canned if frozen aren't available)
1 C frozen chopped spinach (thawed and with the moisture squeezed out)
1/2 C chopped toasted walnuts
1 lemon, zested and juiced
6 cloves garlic
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
3/4 C olive oil
2/3 C Italian cheese mix
1 Ciabatta loaf, cut into slices and then halved

Bake your Ciabatta loaf according to the package directions. To prepare your pesto, combine the artichokes, spinach, walnuts, cheese, lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Process the ingredients stopping the machine a few times to scrape down the sides. Then, with the machine running, drizzle in olive oil until the mixture is slightly runnier than a paste. Serve the pesto with the bake Ciabatta slices for spreading.

Turkey & Artichoke Stuffed Shells

2009-03-02T17:57:00.004-06:00

This recipe is my version of a recipe from Giada deLaurentis with some changes for our tastes, Joel is a bit phobic about onions, etc... We loved this one and it has all the flavors of a fun lasagna with more reasonable portions. I also enjoyed that the artichokes add a certain creaminess to the mixture without having the heaviness of additional cheese.

1 (12 oz) box jumbo pasta shells
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 lbs ground turkey
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 (8-10 oz) package frozen (canned if frozen not available) artichokes, thawed and coarsely chopped
1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese
3/4 C grated Parmesan
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 C chopped fresh basil leaves
1 Jar Tomato Sauce
1 C Italian cheese mix

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still very firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain pasta.

Meanwhile bring your skillet up to a medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey, the minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is slightly golden and cooked through. Add the artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl combine the cooled turkey mixture with the ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, basil, and the remaining salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

To stuff the shells, cover the bottom of a casserole dish with 1 cup of sauce. Take a shell in the palm of your hand and stuff it with a large spoonful of turkey mixture, about 2 tablespoons. Place the stuffed shell in casserole dish. Continue filling the shells until the dish is full, about 24 shells. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the shells, top with the Italian cheese.

To bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until the shells are warmed through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 20-30 minutes.

Cool shades goes swinging!

2009-02-26T17:24:00.005-06:00

Today the weather was "warmer" so we went out to the common yard park for a few minutes. Ethan is really starting to like the swings and I think that is thanks in part to his new shades! Ethan is also getting stronger every day so he was more than capable of steadying himself in the swing seat this time which is why there are so many photos!

Thin Mints meets Oreos

2009-02-26T12:37:00.003-06:00

Ok, this was the other new recipe we tried out last week. These cookies are SO good that I ended up icing one, and then eating it, icing one, then eating it...and so on and so forth:). You could absolutely mix it up in this recipe if you want a different flavoring for the filling. The original icing recipe this is based off of called for a citrus extract and you could always replace the peppermint with more vanilla for a more traditional flavor combination:). I will experiment soon with a fully homemade cookie but for now the cake mix version is quite yummy and super simple!

Peppermint Hilborneos

Cookies
2 Devil's Food Cake Mixes
1 C Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, oil and eggs in a mixer and beat until just combined, making sure not to over mix. Place teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove cookies and let cool 5 minutes then place on a baking rake to cool completely.

Peppermint Filling
1 C Shortening
1 T Vanilla
1 T Peppermint extract
4 1/2 C Confectioner's sugar
4 T Milk

Begin beating the shortening and add vanilla and extract while beating, on medium speed, until combined. Reduce the mixer to low speed, then add 1/2 of the sugar. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and blend, then add the remaining sugar, followed by the remaining milk. Increase mixer speed to medium until the filling is smooth and spreadable. Spread 1/2-1 t of icing on one cookie and sandwich with a second cookie. Makes 36 sandwich cookies.

An ode to "da fingas"

2009-02-24T11:34:00.006-06:00

(Ok, so "da fingas" is the cute way my nephew said the fingers when he wanted his Uncle Dylan to tickle him so not exactly the same thing.)

I am posting today to commemorate a wonderful milestone in Ethan's development: he has gained the dexterity to consistently suck on his fingers and self-soothe! I know there are many opinions on either side of the finger-sucking/pacifier debate but I am decidely a fan of the fingers for now. He still will take the soothie sometimes when he gets so upset he mostly hits himself rather than getting his hand but those occurences are waning:).

Here are a few cute shots of Ethan and his new best friend:Incidentally, this may be the most adorable outfit ever:).

The fingers working their magic:)!

Encouragement from God's word

2009-02-24T10:11:00.002-06:00

Today I was reading LPM's blog and I was really struck by a verse referenced:

"For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy" (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20).

In the last several days, in particular, I have been struck with the awesome responsibility of being like Christ in Ethan's life. I am so thankful for the wisdom of my mother who wisely reminds us that our first mission field, as a mother, is in the home with our children. I know I am wholly inadequate but my God is sufficient. My hope and prayer is that this verse will be true of Ethan. What a blessing that would be!

Vegetable Tart Provencal

2009-02-20T12:33:00.003-06:00

Ok, I love to cook! My mom was always great about including us in the cooking process so from an early age I've known how to make some Butler family staples to include: Marilyn's chocolate chip cookies, Butler birthday cake (angel food cake with strawberry filling), whipped cream, etc...Thankfully I have also been blessed with a husband that loves food and loves my cooking and is very vocal in his encouragement:)! Unlike other areas of my life, namely all of them;), I am a culinary risk-taker! I mix recipes, create my own, serve new recipes at dinner parties and to my in-laws:). As I try new recipes and find ones that we love I plan on posting them on the blog and maybe you can help me to perfect them. Ok, so I created a few recipes this past week based on some of my cravings and this is one of them:

Vegetable Tart Provencal

This recipe would work well as a rich brunch or lunch food, enjoy!
1 Refrigerated Pizza crust
1/2 C Artichoke Hearts
1/2 C Grape/Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 C Chopped Spinach
3-4 T Goat Cheese, crumbled
4-5 T Olive Oil
1 T Flour
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Place your tomatoes, 3-4 T of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste, in a plastic bag and shake to coat the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan for 30 minutes to roast. While the tomatoes roast, brush your tart pan with olive oil and dust with flour to prevent the crust from sticking. Roll the pizza dough out onto the tart pan and pat into the pan, making sure to cut off any access dough. Pierce the center of the dough with a fork repeatedly to prevent the crust from puffing in the center. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and let cool. Bake the crust for 7-9 minutes until it appears cooked but still pale. Remove the crust and top it evenly with the artichokes, roasted tomatoes, spinach and goat cheese. Once the tart is topped, bake it for 10-12 minutes or until the goat cheese is slightly toasted and the crust has a golden hue. Wait 5 minutes before removing the tart from your tart and cut with a pizza wheel.

Sleep, glorious sleep!

2009-02-20T09:52:00.002-06:00

Ethan is a good sleeper, has been since the day he was born, and for that I am very thankful. He has taken a 4-5 hour nap at night for quite some time now and he usually begins this nap at around 8-9pm which means I still have a lot around the house to accomplish before going to bed and enjoying the long nap. So I usually toss and turn and end up getting maybe 2-3 hours of sleep before waking up for a feeding. Last night, however, Ethan went down at 11pm after a second feeding...and woke me up at 6:15 the next morning?! I slept for 5 1/2 hours before waking up and it was glorious:). I know this may not be our routine yet but I am so thankful. Oh, and he fed and then went right back to sleep after his marathon nap and slept for another 1 1/2 hours!

Jumperoo

2009-02-20T09:06:00.004-06:00

Ethan has a Jumperoo and this seems to be a toy he actually enjoys! He likes it just long enough for me to get 10 minutes to work on something while he's awake:), God is good!

Mesmerized by the one toy-less area of the jumperoo...priceless!
Bananas are hilarious, momma!

Happy Valentine's Day:)

2009-02-14T20:20:00.000-06:00

Ethan and Joel were kind enough to make french toast for me on Valentine's Day:), what great guys! The cute shirt says "puppy love" and Ethan's Avi & Ava gave him this cute dog for Valentine's Day:).

Do you think they're related?...

2009-02-13T23:10:00.003-06:00

Not only does Ethan love his Aunt Katherine VERY much but he looks an awful lot like her too:)!

The sun is shining!

2009-02-13T22:25:00.005-06:00

We had a lovely weekend that was "unseasonably warm" and so we took advantage of it! Ethan was a bit overwhelmed by the brightness, despite our best shading efforts with the too-small hat, to truly enjoy swinging just yet. He now has some sunglasses so hopefully he'll be enjoying it soon enough! This playground is in the common yard on our block so all we have to do is walk out our backyard gate a few steps and playtime awaits! There is also another, bigger, playground one block over and with a path directly linked to this playground so we should have lots of fun!

Katherine came to visit!

2009-02-13T12:18:00.008-06:00

(My nephew Jackson calls Katherine KaKa so Ethan made a sign for her at the airport:). Although Katherine has said that Ethan can come up with his own name for her!)

We were thrilled to have my sister Katherine come to visit for a week. This was her first opportunity to meet Ethan and they had a wonderful time together:). Katherine was also kind enough to bring her snazzy camera and took LOTS of pictures of Ethan! While Katherine was here we visited downtown Clarksville, toured Fort Campbell, shopped in Nashville, and just generally enjoyed some quality time of cooking, talking and baking. She also encouraged me to start a new bible study so if anyone is interested in discussing Beth Moore's Esther study, let me know! Ok, now to the good stuff, here are a few pictures from her visit:

Now entering the world of blogging...reluctantly...

2009-02-13T10:57:00.002-06:00

Here we go...hopefully I will do a good job of keeping everyone up to date on our family as it grows and changes:)...