Poor Baby

Telia with her first broken bone...hopefully the last

Holiday Cooking

Over the Holidays we actually had some fun cooking and baking. Most of what we made turned out good so I thought I would share with ya. I don't have any pictures so you will have to settle with some links.

I made 2 different cookies over for Christmas: Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
and Andes Mint Cookies. I didn't save the mint cookie recipe but the link I posted looks like it.

For our Faith family get together I made a low sugar dessert for my Dad which turned out to be a hit with everyone. I made Strawberry Pretzel Salad but substituted sugar free jello instead of the regular stuff and used splenda instead of sugar.

I have decided that Christmas brunch will always consist of quiche (I never make quiche because of Brian's egg allergy but I love it) and other yummies that Brian can enjoy. This year I had some extra squash and zucchini hanging around so I made this Summer Quiche. I made it crust less, used mostly egg whites and didn't have onions or tomatoes on hand but it was still delicious!

This week I made a Breakfast Quinoa Recipe that I found on the Martha Stewart website. This was a nice break from oatmeal and most of the family loved it (minus Ruby). Telia had tons and Brian finished his bowl so that was a good sign.

For the New Year Brian made a wonderful Corned Beef, Cabbage, Carrots, Onions, and Potato meal. No recipe to follow but had to mention how great it was!

Christmas Down South

We visited Brian's parents and his brother in Bowling Green for a couple of days to celebrate Christmas. The girls had a great time with their grandparents, Uncle John, and Abby Dog.

The girls had lovely little Christmas dresses but I didn't get great pics of them in their dresses.

Grandpa L and Abby Dog

Both girls were interested in playing the piano with Grandma during this trip

Ruby was very excited that the southern part of the state got a bunch of snow for her to play in. In this picture she is actually crying because we made her put 2 layers of gloves on...it is hard to be 3 years old some days.

She quickly snapped out of it and had a blast as Uncle John and Daddy pulled her around the yard!

Sisters

Telia Abigail at 13.5 months Christmas 2010

Ruby Eleanor at 15.5 months Christmas 2008

Christmas Morning

We spent Christmas morning at home with my parents. We read the Christmas story from the book of Luke and discovered the goodies in our stockings before Mamaw and Papaw Faith arrived.

We ate a delicious brunch (I'll post new recipes I tried on another day) with Mamaw and Papaw before opening gifts. Ruby is at an age where she really gets into the gifts and has lots of fun not only opening her own but helping everyone else. She was very happy with every gift she received and everything her sister got too.

Waiting for Mamaw and Papaw

Look at my new ornament!

Ezekiel Brian (that is our baby boys name) even got some gifts

Telia helping Mamaw open her gifts

Of course they had tons of fun playing in this big bag

My parents brought us one of their trees on Christmas Eve Eve (the 23rd) to put up while Ruby was asleep. It was so fun seeing her excitement when she woke up to a "booo-ti-ful tree with boo-ti-ful things on it" on Christmas Eve.

Thanks Mamaw and Papaw for the new table!

Got our dresses on and ready to go visit all the Faiths and Bentons for dinner.

Kidisms or Ruby-isms

I have been trying to write down the funny/cute/witty things that my three year old says. Some times we are cracking up at her. Here are a few for your enjoyment:


July 2010
When asked what did you learn in church Ruby said "about God and Peter" when asked what about Peter she said "he got into Mr. McGregors garden" that's for you Peter Rabbit fans

August 2010
A friend asked Ruby what does she want to be when she grows up and Ruby said "I'm going to be a mommy"

Aug. 18, 2010
Ruby looked in our friends ears and told her that she had some of Telia's babyfood in there


Aug. 21, 2010
It was raining outside and Ruby said that it will stop raining when we throw somebody outside. She was referring to the story of Jonah in the bible.

Oct. 2010
When we picked Brian up from the airport Ruby asked him where he parked his airplane

December 2010
Ruby told me that Daddy lover her with "his arms AND his heart"

Updates

Here are a few highlights of our life lately:

Pregnancy: I really haven't written anything about this. I am 18 weeks pregnant and added a ticker at the bottom of the page so you could follow along. I am feeling much better (most days) than I was in the first trimester. Actually, I am feeling better than I have in my 2 previous pregnancies and am very grateful for God's grace in this area. Things are going great but since Ruby was early the doctor's are watching me closely and I get to go to a specialist. We will find out the sex on Dec. 21st so stay tuned. What do you think? Boy or Girl?

The Girls: They are really starting to play together with blocks, chasing one another, or peek a boo and hide and seek. It is fun to hear Ruby telling Telia to come play with her.

Our 3 year old: She never ceases to amaze me...how fast she grows physically and cognitively. She is quite a talker...you have no idea. I have noticed lately that her coloring is getting better. She is really focused on coloring specific things instead of just scribbling. She loves to read books and will sit to hear stories for long periods of time. We are blessed with a very happy girl in Ruby. She is a great big sister and although she is very challenging these days as far as behavior goes (she may be our strong willed child), we know that God is refining us and her through the process. I started "homeschooling" Ruby this year...well, started and then when I got pregnant I stopped. So, recently I have tried to start again and have slowly added more structure to our day. She loves it and I am really enjoying it. We are also involved in a home school co-op with friends once a week from our church.

The 1 year old: Telia is a happy happy baby, just like her sister was. She is walking everywhere and gets very excited to see her sister after nap time and her Daddy after work. She is mimicking a lot of things that Ruby does such as coloring, dancing, and playing peek a boo. She gabs a lot but not too many understandable words yet (Dada, Mama, and Cracker (Caa-Caa). She is currently teething and in the last week about 4 or 5 have popped through.

Brian works hard all day and then comes home and works hard (helping clean and cook since I really haven't been cooking much b/c of food aversions) and plays hard with the girls. I am very thankful for a husband who serves our family so well. He just finished up teaching a class to men at our church on doctrine called "Foundations" and we just finished up another year of leading a community group.

Other random things: We have lots of friends who are pregnant right now and due April/May/June. We are slowly working on our house to get it ready to sell. We gave our dog to a wonderful family from our church...this was bittersweet. Our recent netflix indulgences have been what I like to call "The Duggers" (18 kids and counting, I think) and "Cake Boss"! Brian works right by the "Cake Boss" bakery when he is in NJ! Maybe one day he will bring me home a surprise!
We are actually taking a break from being community group leaders. We are looking forward to joining a new group in January and being active and supportive members of that group.

That is all for now...