Sunday, February 28, 2010

Twelve people in church today! Whoop whoop!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Reagan Olivia...




February 24th 2010, at 4:51pm, we welcomed a chubby, delightful 8lb 8oz darling into our little brood. Welcome to our world little Reagan...yes, we changed the name, actually, we had never totally settled on Kennedi, but a few folks had some very vocal, very opposed reactions to a..uh..name, so we kept our other choice to ourselves and waited to see what she felt like...her names on the birth certificate so you're stuck with Reagan Olivia folks..ha. sheesh. Really, its not the name that makes the girl, its the girl that makes the name...ahem. thats all. I'm so in love...so head over heels, this little one is so sweet and her eyes already look so contemplative and observant, can't wait to show her our life! She was born Cesearan, which made me sad but when I have time I'll explain the miracle of that whole situation!


WELCOME REAGAN!!!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Pretend Im a tree.


This is perhaps the best ad I have ever seen. I mean seriously, could you hit the nail more squarely on the head?!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

STILL PREGNANT!!!! AAAAUUUGGGHH!!!!


yes, I feel sorry for me. Hmph.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

The stuff of life and dreams...


SO! no baby...yet. sigh, this little bun in the oven is a freakin' loaf of bread by now hahaha, sorry..can you tell I wish I was done?!?!?! I just want to hold her and see her and smell her, and um...sleep on my tummy again. ha. So, as of yet, still technically the foley four...ah well.
This pic makes my heart ache everytime, Its truly the sort of thing that makes me carry on and see the point of the vision I've devoted our lives to. The song "Pioneer" by nancy honeytree (old Jesus people movement singer) makes me cry everytime I hear it, it so truly captures the heart and life of a pioneer...here's the lyrics and a video to her singing it....her voice is good but its the spirit behind the song, you can FEEL her sincerity and the annointing of God all over it...

Pioneer
By Nancy Honeytree ©1993 OakTable Publishing, Inc./ASCAP

Pioneer, pioneer
Keep pressing onward, beyond your fear
Only the Father goes before you
To your own frontier
You're a pioneer

Uncharted wilderness stretches before you
And you thrive on going where no one has gone
Still it gets lonely when darkness deepens
So sing by the fire until the dawn

You travel light, you travel alone
And when your arrive, nobody knows
But the Father in heaven, He's glad you can go
For those who come after you will need the road

What you have done others will do
Bigger and better, and faster than you
But you can't look back, you gotta keep pressing through
There's a wilderness pathway, calling you

Calling you, calling you clear
Keep pressing onward, you can't stay here
Only the Father goes before you
To your own frontier
You're a pioneer



Monday, February 8, 2010

Chai Concentrate


oh my...I am so so so so so so SO stoked about this latest recipe. I love reading the angrychicken blog, the author is Amy Karol and she lives in portland. Anyways, I saw a post she had for a chai concentrate and decided to give it a go. Its so simple, just sweetened condensed milk, spices and voila. I used an old jam jar that had a tight lid. It keeps in the fridge for six months!! Makes about 28 cups of tea and is so friggin' delicious. The perfect sweetness, spice, and cream....sometimes, just for fun, I add a splash of cream to make it super decadent. Here you go!

Chai Concentrate
makes 28 cups

Ingredients
•1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
•1 teaspoon granulated sugar
•1 teaspoon ground cardamom
•1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
•1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
Empty condensed milk into a jar or plastic container with tight-fitting lid. Stir in the sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Store in refrigerator.

To use: Brew a cup of strong black tea, such as Assam, then add two heaping teaspoons of concentrate or more to taste. Stir well until concentrate has fully melted.

To give: Pour into small jars with lids and tie with an attractive bow, or wrap the jar first. Attach a tag with instructions to keep the mix refrigerated and how to use it.

To keep: Store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Homemade nursing pads...





HA! I never ever thought I would ever have a blog with that as a header. I feel old. sigh...ah well...I love nursing my babies and it seems to be the healthiest thing for them, and even though I ususally debate giving up for like the first six months, I know its part of God's plan for mothering so I've come to really really love it. However, nursing pads are ridiculously spendy. I made a set of 10 today and love the results!! Yes the flannel is skulls, I had to have some sort of ode to my youth, I seriously felt weird making my own nursing pads, like really, what 23 yr. old does that for fun?! I can imagine the convo, "Hey Sophie this is so and so, we're going out to the mall like normal 23 yr. olds, wanna come?" "I'd love to guys but i'm working on a project!" "oh yeah? awesome! whatcha making"....."reusable nursing pads...." "um, sweet, so yeah, talk to you later"

yeah....ha. but like I said, the skulls helped preserve some of my youth (in my mind anyways)

What you'll need:
1 yard of microfleece
1 yard of flannel (can use an old receiving blanket!)
CD or bowl with 5" diameter

Instructions:
You'll be using 1 layer of fleece and 3 layers of flannel. The flannel is soft and non irritating and the fleece will keep the moisture away from your clothes.
I Cut out the fleece and one layer of flannel in the 5" size, then cut out the two middle flannel pieces in slightly smaller diameters (to decrease bulkiness)
I found that 1 yard of flannel produced 10 pads.
Fold the fleece and flannel in half (to minimize cutting time)
Trace your circles
Cut them out
Stack the layers starting with the fleece then two smaller flannel pieces then the large flannel piece.
Sew a straight stitch down the middle (to hold all the pieces together)
I did all the sewing without ever lifting the needle...just sew straight down then with the needle depressed lift the foot and rotate your fabric so that you'll now be sewing a straight stitch around the entire diameter of the pad, giving about a 1/8" allowance. Once you've completely stitched around, go over the straight stitch with a zigzag stitch (once again I never clipped the thread, just lifted the needle and changed the setting to zigzag and continued on)
Sew the excess fabric (this will prevent fraying)
ENJOY!!
(I tried cutting a slit down the middle and overlapping the layers to make a cone shape, but found that addded to much bulk for me, but it does have nicer countour)
TUTORIAL THANKS TO PASSIONATEHOMEMAKING.COM!!!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

She's got a baby inside....



I am officially 38 weeks pregnant today...my due date has changed to Feb. 17th...say a prayer that I have this little one soon...if I don't, then I have a C-Section scheduled for the 25th, and as that day comes closer my heart gets more worried...both girls were ten days early, so fingers are crossed, prayers are being said and off we go...to one more day until I meet my little baby girl...

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Sisters...




She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child. ~Barbara Alpert

There is nothing that makes my heart long for my sisters more, than seeing Mailey and Emry so caught up in their own little world...such best friends already. Already each others greatest friend and greatest enemy...truly there is nothing like a sister and I miss mine so badly it hurts.