Snow Day!

Sorry this post is so delayed. Our cable has been out since Sunday evening... so no internet, tv or phone!

Well, we when we began following the weather on Friday, we didn’t' think it would happen, but it did! The weather was actually forecasted correctly! Sunday it rained, than sleeted, and for over 6 hours snowed! We kept all the blinds open on Sunday to follow what was happening. As the sleet turned to large snowflakes and the snow began to collect the giddier we got. I made dinner to the merry sound of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra Christmas songs! As the night came to an end, we anticipated waking up to a wintry world of white.

Around 10PM our power went out. Thankfully, all of us were warm in bed (I’m glad I had my book light). Well, about 11PM the low battery chirp of the fire alarms began. Poor Danny, who had just caught a cold earlier in the day, was knocked out from taking medicine had to take the batteries out of the alarms. By 12AM the power was back on! Thank you Duke Energy!!

When we woke up Monday morning, we were not disappointed. There was a ton of snow! Around 6” of snow covering our home! It was beautiful. Everyone ate their breakfast and got bundled up to enjoy our snow! Bentley was not really thrilled with the snow. It could be because he couldn’t move in his snow suit! Well, we let him experience it and brought him back inside. Danny and I built a snowman, made snow angels, and had a little snow ball fight. After Bentley’s nap we went to the store to pick up some lunch and dinner for the next two nights. We couldn’t believe how many cars got stuck in the snow or in accidents! Thankfully, our car has 4 wheel drive and we had no problem at all getting around.

Here are some pictures of our exciting day!

The snow just beginning to stick.


Our home!


Danny and Bentley's first snowman!


Our slide show!

Salad Dinner...

Tonight is our last ladies' care group meeting for a while and to celebrate we are having a Salad Dinner before the meeting starts. I'm pretty bummed about these meetings ending! Here is what I'm serving: (Some are non-dairy)



Mediterranean Cucumber Cups
Rachael Ray

Ingredients
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and, finely chopped
1/4 cup black olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh feta, crumbled
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon plus 1/2 tablespoon zest
2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 English cucumbers, seedless

Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the onion, pepper, tomatoes, olives, oregano, feta, parsley, lemon juice and zest, and EVOO. Season with salt and pepper, and reserve.

Peel the cucumbers partially, so it has 4 stripes of skin going down the entire length of the cucumber. Trim the ends of the cucumbers and cut each cucumber into slices 3/4 of an inch thick -- you should have about 20 pieces. Scoop out the center of each slice with a melon baler, leaving a shell of flesh.
Scoop about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the Mediterranean salad into the cucumber cups and enjoy your refreshing bite-size snack!

These are so yummy! I made them for different ladies' meeting and they were a hit. I will post some more of the recipes from the other ladies' in our group.

A Little Cruise... John Deere Style

Saturday afternoon, Bentley had his first ride on Danny's John Deere. He thought it was fun, but was ready to get off as soon as the ride was over.

A Very Lovey Valentine's Day

Well, we enjoyed our Valentine's Day. It was much more relaxing than last year. There was no trip to the hospital to see Bentley.

We took Bentley down to falls park and saw a lot of dogs and couples. It was so neat to see couples holding hands and cuddling. Every park bench and swing was occupied by a couple. I wish it were like that all the time. It was very sweet. The park was cold and windy, with trees and flowers blooming. Poor things will be dead soon, because our warm weather is leaving!

We ate our lunch and then walked to Starbucks. I got a Raspberry Mocha Frappuccino and it was soooo yummy! I made the mistake of giving Bentley a taste of my whipped cream. We had to leave because he had such a fit because I wouldn't give him anymore! It definitely made a memory. We drove around downtown for a bit then made our way home. Bentley took a much needed nap and we watched Kung Fu Panda.
For dinner we had steak, potatoes, and broccoli by candlelight. It was so much fun. Here are some pictures of our special day.

Bentley eating cheerios at the park...the boy loves his food.


Danny and Bentley making music. Bentley mostly wanted to suck on the flute.


Our table


Us, ready to dig in. We at our fancy dinner in our pjs!

Yay! Bentley is one today!

Sorry everyone! It has been a crazy month. Between the three of us we have been sick about eight times and it isn't over yet! I went to the doctor on Monday and am on antibiotics for bronchitis and I will be bringing Bentley to the doctor tomorrow since he woke up sick yesterday.

Well, I can't believe it today our little boy is one! I can't believe how fast time is flying. Here are some of his favorite things to do:
1. Whine - he's mastered this :)
2. Mimic us - coughing, sneezing, throwing up... really anything.
3. Eating, eating, eating. The boy can eat.
4. Getting excited when his Daddy comes home.
5. Playing with toys, usually not the way they were intended to be played with.
6. Growl like a lion, which he thinks is a dog.
7. Dogs - our neighbors dog barks a lot and as soon as Bentley hears her, he goes crazy saying, "dog, dog, dog" or he will do this if we see a dog in person or on tv.
8. Music - he loves to dance and can usually find the beat of the music.
9. Give us kisses - he likes to kiss us and he will rub my arm or belly, it's very sweet.
10. Throw toys over his play yard fence or crib.
11. Waving - he'll even wave with his thumb in his mouth.
12. Bathtime - he loves to splash around.
13. He LOVES to touch the emergency handle that hangs from the garage door opener.
14. Peek a boo is a favorite pastime

Overall, he's been a great baby! We are so thankful that God spared he life and has allowed him to grow up and be such a wonderful addition to our family. Life is not the same with him, but we can't imagine life without him. I can't believe how different things are from last year at this time. I can honestly say that I am thankful for the suffering that we went through because God proved himself sovereign and faithful and has made us so grateful for the life that he has given to us. There is no other way to get through trials, but by the grace of God. We can say that with true conviction because we with out a doubt had God's all suffient grace on us and were so thankful for it.

Bentley, Happy Birthdy! We love you so much and are so thankful to be celebrating your first birthday!!

What happens when he runs out of food:


His chompers:


Playing with his Daddy:


Bathtime:

Silly Bentley Stories...

Here are two little stories that I want to have written down somewhere...

While at my parents house over our Christmas vactation, Danny and I were lying down with Bentley and he began to play peek-a-boo. It's his favorite game right now. Well, he put his head down and we began to ask, "Where's Bentley?" He picked up his head and with a big smile he growled at us. It was hilarous. He loves to growl, but it was perfect timing and he knew it because he laughed too!

My second story happened this morning. Bentley woke up early so Danny brought him to me in our bed. I was still very sleepy (Bentley and I are sick right now) so I got him to fall back asleep in our bed. Well, his face has been covered in snot and drool the past couple of days, so I have been continually wiping is face. Which I did before he fell back asleep. When he woke up he found a clean tissue on our bed and began to wipe my nose with it. I couldn't believe that he figured out what it was for! I began laughing, but he was very serious about getting my nose clean!

I can't believe that in a month and two days our little boy is going to be a year old. Time has flown. He is such a blessing! He just cut three huge teeth on the top, so he looks funny! I can't believe he has five teeth. He's always finding things to put in his mouth that I have to fish out. Now it is becoming dangerous because he bites.... hard! What a boy!

The closing of another year...

Wow! So much has happened in the last year. We had Bentley, grew a garden, had a couple of family vacations,learned how to can, ran my first 5K, and turned 25! The list could go on! This year seemed to zoom by. At the beginning of each year I usually have some sort of goal -- that I never seem to reach or gets lost in the cares of life, but a goal nonetheless. This year it seems that I have been too busy to even think about anything. So today, while Bentley and I are sick, I am going to plan out some goals for this new year. The growing of our family will add its own challenges to my goals. (That's right we are expecting again! We are so excited about our new little one and the joy of two babies in the house!)

Some of the goals that have been in the back of my mind are:
Read the entire Bible
Read Do Hard Things and Seeing and Savoring Jesus
Grow a summer and winter garden
Can seasonally -- keeping up with seasonal fruits and veggies.
Try to have a organinzed home - cleaning schedule, shopping schedule, a clean laundry/ sewing room

Well, I guess I don't have to do too much planning! There is already a lot on this list plus adding another baby! I'm sure that more ideas will come!

I hope that everyone had a Happy New Year and is ready for 2009!