Wish it could be a funny post . . .

I am too spent to attempt humor this afternoon, so I suppose I'll just write about what's really on my mind.

Babies. They are everywhere. I think maybe ten or eleven or forty-eight of my friends are pregnant right now. Sigh. I am super happy for them. It's still hard though. I worked in the infant nursery at church for the first time on Sunday. Not only did we have a sweet little guy named Isaac in there, there was also a little boy who was born a couple of weeks before my little one. I felt down the rest of the day after we left church.

I think this is probably normal for our situation, but I can't stop thinking about when we are going to have another baby. And then I imagine the ways we could have a baby besides the obvious. We (I) sent away for a packet on adoption, but the financial side of it is so discouraging. I also asked Ethan what he thought about us finding someone who would be a surrogate for us, and he looked at me like I had grown another head or something. :)

I would appreciate prayers for patience and peace in this; and please don't tell me "well, you have plenty of time". I know this sounds so snotty, but I feel like that's all anyone ever says without knowing how it feels to have had a child die. I know we are young and "have time," but I miss my baby so much, I guess it's hard to be rational.

Dream On

I am having troubles writing anything so far this year. Maybe it's the shiny newness of Facebook, where I can just plop down any old thought that comes to mind in one sentence or less. Maybe it's because I had strep throat and an ear infection last week. Or maybe it's just because I haven't had anything good to share.

Not true. I had a horribly scary nightmare a few days ago. I was dreaming that Ethan and I were asked to help the marching band here in our new town. So we go to the practice, which happens to be a dress rehearsal, and the colorguard (my people), are dressed like VEGETABLES! I'm not kidding. This was their actual costume. I remember seeing a carrot, brocolli spear, and an onion before waking up in a cold sweat.

Does anyone else think that's weird?

Luckily, this doesn't seem to be a recurring nightmare. Maybe it had something to do with the pain pills I was taking for the ear infection. Or maybe I have a deep-seated fear of healthy food.

That's probably it.

December Happenings

I can't believe how crazy and busy this month is already. This was definitely not the time of year to move, but I'm happy we're here. Just had to share a few recent pictures . . .
Ryan loves our new front-loading washer and dryer. I love that he loves it; keeps him busy. On this particular day we were washing his favorite blanket so he was REALLY interested!

Emily wanted a Princess Annaliese birthday this year. The only reason this cake even looks halfway decent is thanks to my friend Liz, who must have a cake-decorating gene. Before she came over and rescued it Barbie had her legs straight up in the air -- so improper!

This last picture is from right after Halloween. I had to get a picture of Ryan with his candy. The first few times he was allowed to have a candy he just held it and looked at it. :) I don't think he knew what to do with it.

Today we had a field trip with our homeschool group to a retirement home where we sang Christmas carols and gave cards to the residents. It was so sweet. Well, it was sweet until Ryan crawled under the Christmas tree we were standing next to and activated the "snoring Santa" decoration. I thought I would die of embarrassment. One minute we're singing Silent Night, the next thing I know there's this loud sound of snoring and the whole group turns around to see Ryan on his hands and knees, smiling from under the tree. It was great.

Wow

Emmie surprised me today. We were talking about this drama I'm a part of for our Christmas program and the girls kept asking me questions about it. I told them that the story is about a woman who is too busy with all of her holiday plans to spend any time with God. I told them that it was "really important" to spend some time with God every day. Emmie asked me why, and I told her it was because when you don't make time for the most important relationship in your life, your life "just kind of falls apart". Here was her thought on that.

Emmie: "But mommy, our life already falled apart when baby Isaac died!"

Wow. I was shocked. We had not been talking about Isaac that day or even recently. Plus, I'm sure she never heard us use that term in talking about what had happened. She really surprised me.

Our life really did fall apart when it happened and it's never going to be the same. But like I told Emmie, we never would have made it through and even had some joy on the other side of this without our relationship with our Saviour. He alone is our source of hope and peace!

Finally

My posting lately has been truly PATHETIC. But then I felt better tonight when I realized we have lived in our new home for 9 days and have had company over on 5 of those days! I don't know what we're thinking. Anyway, more posting to come as soon as I download some new photos. Stay tuned . . .

Happy Birthday Emmie!

Happy 4th birthday to my little firecracker! Emmie has been so fun since day one. She is the kid who always cracks us up. She also asks me questions like, "Do pretend bugs have bad dreams?" (Yeah, I'm still working on the answer to that one!)

Calling All Chocolate Lovers!

Found this recipe recently and thought it looked intriguing. I would try it, but with moving I'm not exactly Betty Crocker right now. :)

Chocolate Cake-in-a-Mug

1 - coffee mug (microwave-safe)

4 T. - cake flour (plain, not self-rising)

4 T. - sugar

2 T. - cocoa

1 - egg

3 T. - milk

3 T. - oil

1 - splash of vanilla

3 T. - chocolate chips (Optional)

Add dry ingredients to the mug; mix well with a fork. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix well. Add chips, if using. Put mug in the microwave, and cook for three minutes at 1,000 watts. Cake will rise over the top of the mug -- do not be alarmed. When finished, carefully remove mug from microwave and allow to cool a little. Tip onto a small plate prior to serving, if desired. Yields one generous serving or two "more virtuous" servings.