Six Years Ago

Six years ago, on a Saturday much like today, Jamie asked me to date him, with the intention of marriage. It was February 1, 2003. On April 4 we were engaged and on July 26, 2003, we got married.

That cold Saturday was the start of such a beautiful thing. Jamie and I met our sophomore year of highschool, when my family starting attending the church Jamie's family already attended. We were "church friends" all throughout highschool and into college. The summer before our senior year of college, I was the Vacation Bible School coordinator for our church and I asked Jamie to help me build some of the props. I quickly developed a crush on him, and get this - I didn't tell a single sole. I didn't want to spoil this crush, which felt different, special, with girlfriend gossip.

Once school started back up, Jamie and I started IMing each other now and again and exchanged an occansional email. Over Christmas break I went to Africa to visit my sister, who was working as a missionary in Cameroon. Jamie spent some time at a Christian conference and took a trip to Los Angeles. Upon our return, we saw each other at church the last Sunday before our Spring semester began. Our youth group was pretty close and we always greeted each other with a hug. Jamie sat next to me in church, and let me tell you, that hug was awkward and I had butterflies! We decided it'd be fun to share stories and pictures from our break, so we agreed to meet up the next weekend. This would be the first time we ever hung out just the two of us. We'd been friends so long, it seemed like something normal/natural to do... but if felt different!

We did meet up for dinner the next Friday, and Jamie bought mine. :) He also purposely didn't use the bathroom in the restaurant so he could ask to use mine when he dropped me off... he didn't want the night to end (of course I didn't find this out till later). As we sat on opposite ends of my couch talking the evening away, I recall, very clearing, imagining our wedding. Little did I know in six short months I would actually be marrying this man.

The next week Jamie asked me to go to the high school play of a mutual friend, because he happened to have an extra ticket. :) So, again we went out, not that we were thinking of it as a date... at least we didn't call it that, but if the butterflies in my stomach meant anything - it was a date. :)

The next week, Jamie asked me to do something again that Saturday evening, February first. I had to work in the evening, so I suggested he come over and I'd make him breakfast. I made pancakes, with strawberries and bacon. It was yummy, but I don't think either of us felt much like eating. After numerous references to "the weather," Jamie finally said what he was thinking and began to share his heart and intentions with me. I had a boyfriend, and not just any boyfriend. He'd told me that he wanted us to pray very seriously about marriage and that he felt we ought to move in that direction. We agreed that if the LORD revealed to us that we shouldn't get married we would break up and just be friends. WOW, what a glorious day. He left and I got in my car to leave for work. The radio was already on, and what song do you suppose was playing??? At Last, by Etta James. Shivers all over!

The next six months were a glorious whirlwind of two people, not just falling deeply in love, but becoming best, most true, friends. When I married Jamie on July 26, 2003, I married my other half, my best friend and my partner for this life. Today, as I remember six years ago, I am so thankful that Jesus brought us together and created us to serve Him as a team and to share this life together.

Last night we left the kiddos with my parents and headed for a hotel overnight at the same hotel we spent our wedding night in. This is actually the fourth time we've been back and it is always so special to go back to the beginning; toremember the blissful love of newlywedhood and to reflect on how sweet our love has become over time.

Jamie is so many things to me, but the thing I am most thankful for is that Jamie was the first person to love me with an unconditional love that made me realize the type of unconditional love God has for me. His walk with the Lord motivated me to pursue something truer and deeper with my Lord. He continues to inspire me to walk closer to Jesus and continues to teach me of God's unconditional love as he loves me each day.

I love you Jamie.

Need Further Proof?

God is alive. God is good. God listens! Whether you check her blog every day or have never looked at it, you need to check out today's post over at My Charming Kids. What a testimony and such a sweet letter from a Mama to her son. The same God that healed Stellan and that is healing Harper, He is the same God that created YOU and loves you. My challange for you today is to go to God during a quiet moment and tell him your heart. Be honest with him, brutelly honest. Don't be scared. He's big enough to handle your true feelings. He knows them anyways! Just open up that line of communication and see what happens. Just like when you've been closed off from your spouse or a good friend, that first conversation can seem awkward at best, but the more honest it is the better it goes and the better chance you have at having another conversation. Try it, I dare you! :)

Ruthie :)

God is SO amazing!

Please, please go to http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2009/01/o-happy-day.html and check out the latest update on Harper. God is SO good! I am simply shedding tears of joy and giggling with delight at the sight of Kelly and Scott getting to hold and feed their sweet girl. And that headband? SO adorable! She is such a doll. I thought this day couldn't get more special, but it just did when I read Kelly's post from today! So many have prayed for this baby and God does hear our prayers. He does care for us, for each detail and Harper's life, and Kelly's graceful spirit, are living proof! Thank you Jesus!

What a difference...

... five months make!

Riley, at a few days old.

Riley, at five months old!

Riley, a few days old.

Five months!

I cannot believe my baby boy, my second miracle child, is five months old. I feel like he's passed from newborn/infancy straight into full-on babyhood overnight. Just a couple of days ago he was content with just nursing, he couldn't roll from his back to his tummy and he definitely couldn't sit up. Today, he's a rolling, squirming maniac who is actually playing with all of his fun baby toys. He can stay sitting once propped and is gobbling up the bananas a few times a day. He is teething like crazy still, always having to chew on something. You'll notice his hands are in his mouth in the above "five month" pictures. I tried so hard to get a smile out of him, but he wouldn't take his hands out of his mouth! (and that huge gouge on his nose, yep, I did that to him the other night with my finger nail - ouch and oops!) Oh, but when he does smile and giggle, it melts my heart! I just love Riley so much. He was prayed for and hoped for for so long and I'm so thankful he's here, in my arms! Thank you Jesus for my son.

I did a little photo shoot with Soph and Riley today. The above shots are from that, as is the one below of Sophia. I captured a few other really adorable ones, but I'll post those another day. Here's a taste until then...

Happy Five Months Riley!

Today is a special day! Not only is it the third anniversary of my sister, Jeni, and brother-in-law, David, but today my baby boy turns five months old! As of yesterday he is rolling like crazy, can sit without support (for a moment or two), and is again eating food. He has been nursing like a maniac, and now that he's five months old I felt more comfortable offering him extra. We're going with bananas for now, and he's gobbling them up, plus doing all his normal nursing, like there's no tomorrow! He's a happy, healthy, growing boy and we just love him!!!

I captured this video of him last night. Enjoy. :)

He's on a Roll Again!

Riley rolled from his back to his tummy today! He's been rolling from his tummy to his back for quite awhile, but today was a new milestone! How fun. I better watch out, because a rolling baby is a mobile baby. :)

Ruthie :)

Tiny Dancer

Here's Soph, ready to leave for her first ballet class!

Striking a pose before class.

Enduring all the photos Mom kept taking.

What a cutie! :)

Waiting patiently for class to begin...

Stretching!

Listening closly to the teacher's instructions.

Learing the moves!

Working hard and looking adorable.

A little work at the bar...

So, tonight Sophia got to start ballet class. This little class is comprised of girls, 3-5 years old, and she has six other classmates. They will have a receital in June, which I can't wait to see!!! Sophia was so excited for class she couldn't even eat dinner. She also insisted on showering with me today so she would "be clean for ballet!" She concentrated so hard and listened very intently. I did see her telling her teacher about falling and cutting open her eye. :) If you've ever worked with this age group you know they like to tell their stories! The class ended with the girls free dancing around with these giant prop lollipops. So cute. She had such fun and I really loved watching her. She is growing up so quickly... The pictures aren't super crisp of her dancing because I was taking them in a dimly lit room through a two-way mirror, while holding a squirmy baby!

Ruthie :)

Can you identify???

Any guesses to what this is?

A couple weeks ago my sister and BIL and my Mom all won a contest on my blog. My Mom has already received her prize, but Jeni and David hadn't, until today (hopefully!). Anyways, the above picture shows what they received - homemade mini blueberry muffins and homemade granola. I want to share my granola recipe with you because it is so easy and yummy!

Simple Granola

Combine in a large bowl:

2 cups whole wheat flour

6 cups whole grain oats

1 cup wheat germ

Mix thoroughly in another bowl:

1/2 cup water

1 cup oil (hint - measure out oil first, than using the same measuring cup, measure out the honey. The oil lubes up the measuring cup and the honey slides right out!)

1 cup honey

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon salt

Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients. Mix until totally combined. Spread out onto two cookie sheets. Bake at 250 for one hour.

My two favorite ways to enjoy this granola are, a) as cereal; with banana and milk, b) as dessert! Dish out your favorite yogurt (mine is Dannon's all natural, low-fat vanilla, purchased in the big tub to last all week!) into a bowl. Top it with frozen blueberries, chocolate chips (got to try 60% cacoa Ghiradelli chips) and granola! Seriously, it tastes and feels like a decadent dessert, but it's really a healthy treat!

Let me know if you try this recipe and if you like it!

Ruthie :) (please excuse the lack of spaces in this post. blogger likes to ignore my spaces quite often. anyone techy out there that can help me fix this??)

Two Gentlemen and a Lady

Are words really necessary?

Harper Brown

Just wanted to give you a quick update on Harper... She turned one week old yesterday and is really making progress. Her mommy, Kelly, got to change her diaper today, but still has yet to hold her. Please visit her blog and read Kelly's own words. Keep praying too! God is the Great Physician and He hears our prayers. Please, believe this tonight. The God of the universe, the One who calls himself, I AM, He loves you and wants you to know it. Maybe it's been a long time since you prayed, try it tonight and see what He does.

"For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son; that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life." John 3:16

Click here to go directly to Kelly's blog. Goodnight. :)

Purim Feast

Last night our Sunday School class, which essentially consists of three families, including ours, had our version of a Purim Feast. We recently studied the book of Esther, and as you may know, Purim is the holiday Jews celebrate in order to remember the story of Esther. Jamie and I did some online research and came up with a menu; each family (aka the women :) ) prepared two traditional Purim dishes. It was so much fun and all the food turned out to be really good! It was interesting to experience a bit of a traditional Jewish holiday - being Christians, those are our roots afterall!



Two interesting things about Purim... everyone is supposed to boo and hiss everytime Haman's name is mentioned during the reading of Esther. Jamie bought noise makers for all the kids and while he read the story (out of Soph's Bible :) ) of Esther, each time he said Haman the kids got to go crazy! It was such fun. The other interesting thing is that you are supposed to get very inebriated during the Purim feast. So drunk in fact, that you can't tell the difference between "Blessed is Mordecai," and "Cursed is Haman." We decided not to partake in that particular tradition... :)


Anyways, if you have a small group, Sunday school class or brave family, I encourage you to research and take part in a Jewish feast/holiday. It's really interesting and enlightening, and fun! Jamie and I partook in a Passover feast in LA with our small group, and it was amazing.


My favorite recipe from our Purim feast were these little cookies I made. They are supposed to represent Haman's three-cornored hat (didn't know he wore one, did you?! :) ). Here's the recipe. It looks more complicated than it is, they are actually quite simple to make and they are delish!


Tasty Hamantashen


4 cups flour
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar1 cup margarine, softened
1 Tbsp. Orange juice
2 tsps. Baking powder
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. Orange rind


FILLINGS1 pound strawberry or apricot preserves
Preheat oven to 350°.
Grease cookie sheets.


Place all ingredients in a large mixer bowl and beat together. You may add a drop more juice or flour, depending on consistency of dough. Roll dough into a ball. Divide into four parts. Proceed to assemble and bake according to Hamantashen illustrated.


Illustrated Guide: 1. Prepare dough of your choice. Divide into four portions

2. On a floured board roll out each portion to about 1/8-inch thick. Using a round bicuit or cookie cutter cut 3-inch circles.

3. Place 1/2 to 2/3 teaspoon of desired filling in the center of each circle.

4. To shape into triangle, lift up right and left sides, leaving the bottom down and bring both side to meet at the center above the filling.

5. Bring top flap down to the center to meet the two sides. Pinch edges together.

6. Place on grease cookie sheet 1 inch apart and bake at 350 degree preheated oven for 20 minutes.


I used strawberry preserves and I actually halved the recipe b/c it makes a whole lot of dough! Doing this still made about 3 dozen cookies!

Ruthie :)

Almond Butter Deliciousness

I've always wanted a food processor, so this year I spent some of my christmas money and purchased one for myself! On sale no less. It is the 7 cup Kitchen Aid, and I just love it! I really enjoy using it; it's the perfect size to fit my needs. I've made hummus, cookie doughs, chopped nuts, and most recently almond butter! Have you ever experience almond butter? It's very expensive at the store, but Jamie found a big 'ol bag of almonds on sale and we made our own!

1. Simply put the almonds in the food processor (you may want to give the almonds a rough chop first) with the regular blade and turn on.

2. Let it process until it looks like peanut butter. You may have to stop it every five minutes or so and mix it around, scrape the bottom and sides. It takes roughly 20 minutes or so; just keep tasting it until you think it's the right consistency.

3. Eat and Enjoy! It is so good - and good for you! No added ingredients. Favorite way to eat it?? On toast with honey - yummy!

What about Sophia?

Something has been missing from my blog posts recently. Have you noticed her absence? Let's just say Sophia is at that age where capturing cute, spontaneous pictures, not so easy! She, how shall I say it... has a mind of her own. She's not always in the mood for a cute photo-op. Well, while I was taking cute shots of Riley a couple weeks ago, this is what Soph was doing. She was actually begging me to take her picture - so, I did! In case you can't tell, she loves dressing up. I have to force her to wear normal clothes, but most days we stay in, so I let her go crazy and she always chooses a dress with an assortment of accessories. Love my girl!

Zonked out!

About a week and a half ago, Riley would NOT fall asleep in his bed. He screamed and screamed and screamed. Well, later on, around 6:30 pm, Jamie was preparing dinner and he called me in to take a look. Pitiful little fellow. His bed would have been much more comfortable! :)

Isn't he dappar?

Before I get to the good stuff... can you please pray for me? I think God has given me an idea, inspired by the story of Baby Harper, and I am really asking the Lord for confirmation before I move forward with trying to implement my idea. It's pretty huge and would take a ton of people being willing to give and a lot of trust in God's provision. So, I'd really appreciate you praying specifically that God would give me confirmation, one way or the other. I'll keep you posted! Thank you so much!

In other news, I won a contest today! I never win anything, and my BIL's step-mom just changed that today! Go here to see what I'm talking about! Thanks Sue!

So, now on to the good stuff. Seriously, I'm in love! :)

A change of plans...

Last Saturday, January 10, we decided to give Riley rice cereal. We gave it to him for about a week, and have since stopped. I did some additional research and it's not really recommended to give any other food aside from my milk till 6 months. Since stopping he's doing just fine with only nursing. Still sleeping great, etc! So, we'll try again in a month or so. But, we did videotape his first taste and it's pretty cute, esp. when Soph gets some on her hand... We thought we'd share this cute moment with all of you!

Update on Harper

This sweet girl is Harper. Isn't she a doll? She weighed just 2 oz. (9lbs 12 oz) shy of Soph's birth weight, so she's a good sized girl and I can relate to the hard work it took Kelly, her Mommy, to deliver her! God has raised up literally thousands of prayer warriors on her behalf, largely due to the blogosphere! She is making improvements. The docs think something is wrong with her heart, but they are unable to check that out until they get her lungs healthy and get her stable. She is making strides in the right direction though. Because she needs to remain sedated, she can't be held or spoken to out loud. Can you even imagine?? I think tonight was the first time they could even touch her a little. I just can't imagine how heartbreaking that would be. Anyways... please keep praying for baby Harper. I can't wait to see how God works through her little life. Also, another family at their church also delivered a baby boy, Brayden, this week, and he's dealing with similar problems as Harper. Crazy, right? Pray for them too. Thanks!

Riley is doing so much better. He hasn't been fussy at night, like he has been, since I stopped the antibiotic, and his rash is pretty much cleared up. Soph is doing great too! We finally got our Christmas tree down - thanks to Mom and Dad for coming down to Ashland to help us out with that and some other things. Praying for a healthy, "normal" week!

Ruthie :)

Weary

***UPDATE*** I just spoke to the Ped. on call at our local hospital. He's not Riley's regular physician, but he is from the same practice. He said as long as Riley is showing no signs of breathing trouble and his lips/tongue doesn't swell, we don't need to take him in. Of course discontinue the antibiotics. I'll be sure to call his regular ped. on Monday. Right now Riley is sleeping peacefully and not showing any signs of breathing difficulty. I think I'm going to back off the baby foods too, just to be on the safe side. I've just done some research and I guess the World Health Organization says you really shouldn't even start solids till 6 mos. of age, though most peds. say to start as early as 4. So... I think I'll back off and see how he does. Oi.




I feel so weary today. Riley's tummy and back is covered in a rash now. I'm concerned that it's a reaction to the amoxicillin his ped. put him on to ward off pneumonia. I am terribly allergic to penicillins and Jamie has a high sensitivity to them. I'm feeling guilty for not saying something at the dr.s about this. I didn't really think that he'd be allergic just because I am. I'm confused a bit though, because I also let him try some mushed banana at lunch. The rash showed up right after that. But, I've never heard of someone being allergic to bananas. So, my first thought was, it has to be the medicine, but he didn't even get his dose this morning, b/c Jamie forgot before work, then I was about to give it to him when the rash showed up. So, it's been since last night around 8p since he had the medicine. I'm confused, is it the banana or the ampicillin? Of course it's got to be Saturday, so I can't reach his doctor. I hate to take him to the ER, esp. here b/c it's not a Chilren's hospital - if it's not serious. But, I hate to mess around too. And the nurse hotline at Children's always just tells you to go to the ER, so that won't be helpful. Anyways, pray that Jamie and I have wisdom in what to do. He's napping peacefully right now and Jamie's coming home soon for his lunch break. We'll figure stuff out then - I think I'll call our local hospital and talk to the ped on call. I'm anxious for all -around health in our household. Sophia is coming down with pink-eye again we think. Delightful. Pray for my spirit, that I don't get discouraged and that I have wisdom in caring for my babes. Thank you!

In good news, Kelly's baby is showing a lot of signs of improvement, praise Jesus! Visit her blog for updates. The button is at the top of my left side bar, "Praying for Harper."

Have a great day!

Ruthie :)

Would you pray?

I read a lot of blogs every day. It may seem strange, but the majority of them are complete strangers to me. All the blogs that I read, where I don't personally know the authors, are moms; moms I get inspired by, moms that encourage me, moms that make me smile, and most of all - moms that make me feel like I belong to this unique community of "Mommy-bloggers," and make me feel not alone in this whole "mommy-ing" thing. Anyways, it's been so neat to see the family of God rise up on numerous occasions to pour out their petitions to God on someone else's behalf.

Kelly is in need of prayer tonight. I've been reading her blog since the summer. After quite a few years of yearning and trying, the Lord blessed her and her husband, Scott with a healthy pregnancy. Today, around 7pm, their sweet girl, Harper was born. She wasn't breathing well and apparantly has pneumonia really bad. She was life flighted to a children's hospital, placed on heart/lung bypass and knocked out/paralyzed to give her lungs a chance to heal. I'm not even sure Kelly's gotten to hold her. Kelly is in the other hospital till sometime tomorrow when she can go join her daughter. Can you say terrifying? Please pray for Kelly, Scott and their sweet girl Harper. Visit them at the link below. Thank you!

http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/

Dare I admit it?

Thank you all for praying for Riley and the rest of us. I love this blog world. It's so wonderful to be able to reach out and ask for prayer and to hear from family and friends and know you've been praying for us. Thank you, thank you! He's sleeping peacefully in his daddy's arms right now, listening to "white noise" off of Jamie's touch iPod. That's right, he's one high-tech baby! :) His schedule has become a bit helter skelter, what with him being sick and sleeping and nursing at a more frequent pace than usual, so, pray for us as we work to get him back on his normal routine over the next few days.

So... I often tell funny stories on my daughter, and no doubt will have lots to share about Riley soon enough. Tonight I am going to share one about myself. Any grand illusion to my mental brilliance is about to be dashed, you've been warned!

Yesterday, while watching "Barbie, In Swan Lake," no less, I had what is often referred to as a "duh" moment. There was a scene where Ken, I mean, "the Prince," was shooting an arrow at a red bull's eye target painted on a bale of hay. When I saw the target it instantly reminded me of the logo to that oh so famous store, Target. My next thought was, and I'm not joking here folks, was, "Oh my goodness! Is that why TARGET'S logo is a big giant TARGET???" I really don't know. Jamie laughed and laughed when I told him. I guess I've just never really thought about it. I mean, I knew the store was called Target and I knew those red circles were targets... I just never put it togther. Seriously, maybe I've just seen too many Barbie movies. :) Nah, couldn't be that! :)

Ruthie :)

Finally!!

Well, Riley's fever is finally below 100! Praise Jesus. I've still given him tylenol, b/c I don't want it to come back! It's so nice to kiss his cheeks and to feel them cool, not HOT! Thank you for all your prayers. He's still quite congested, and last night, btwn. 12ish and 2ish he was quite fussy and wanted to nurse, but then couldn't breathe, on and on it went. Finally, he was able to nurse enough to fill his tummy and slept. Jamie has the day off - Praise the Lord!- and so we're taking turns sleeping today. I got the morning to sleep and now he's taking his much deserved nap.

Our Sunday School class recently finished studying the book of Esther. We had planned to do our version of the Purim Feast tonight and watch the Veggie Tales version of Esther. We all have kids and it was going to be such a fun time. But, we decided to postpone till next week due to Riley's illness.

Sophia is doing fine! She does have a touch of a cold, but it's not holding her down. :) Speaking of holding her down... that's exactly what I had to do to clip off the giant hang nail of her big toe last night. Why? Because the baby clippers were misplaced, and though we assured her the grown up clippers were exactly the same, just bigger, you would've thought we were suggesting sawing it off with a butcher knife. Well, amidst her screams and flails, I successfully held her still, immobilized the toe and clipped off the offender. Afterwards I said to Soph, "See, it wasn't so bad, was it?" Because it wasn't so bad, her first response was positive, but then, as if some little light bulb went off that she just admitted Mom and Dad were right, she quickly changed her mind and declared, "No! It was bad!" Little stinker! :)

Have a great day and keep praying Riley continues to recover and that Jamie and I have the strength to deal! Thank you!

Ruthie :)

Keep Praying Please!

Well, Riley's fever is back up to 102.7. It's been 50+ hrs now of him having a fever. It's fluctuated up and down, going as high as 103. The lowest it's been today is 100.4, and that was earlier this evening. I thought it was finally starting to break, but than it's spiked back up. He's still nursing pretty well, but he's pretty fussy. He's teething on top of all of this, so that just adds another element of fun. :) Please keep praying for us, we so covet it right now and appreciate it! Hopefully we'll have better news on the fever front tomorrow.

Ruthie :)

Riley's sick

***UPDATE*** okay, can't believe i spelled riley's name wrong - oops! his fever is slowly coming down, still there, but at least it's consistently lowering each time I check! - and he's still eating great and sleeping good. Pray his lungs don't get anymore congested. His cough is starting to sound pretty gunky, which is of course a concern b/c babies can get to the point where they can't clear that out and that would mean medical intervention would be necessary. So, please pray that his lungs get more clear, not more congested! Also, Soph woke up with a pretty decent cold - so, let's just say I'm a bit tired, but thankfully Jamie has tomorrow off. Keep praying, and thank you!!!




Please pray for Riley. He's had a fever now for 24 hrs + and his ped. said he most likely has RSV. Click here for more info. on RSV. He's being put on prophylactic antibiotics so it doesn't turn into pnuemonia. As long as his fever breaks and his breathing doesn't become more labored he'll be good to recup at home - which will take a week at best! If he worsens we're looking at a trip to the hospital and lots of nasty tests, etc. Pray our little guy's fever breaks tonight and that his congestion improves, so as not to further impede his breathing. We have the stuff to do breathing treatments, so we may try that if we feel he needs it. At this point he's still eating pretty good (though more frequently due to all his diarrhea and vomiting) and is still smiling, etc... which are all good signs! Pray for Jamie and I to have strength and for Soph to be patient as the focus is placed more heavily on her brother for awhile. And most of all, pray for a quick recovery for our sweet boy! Thank you so much!

Ruthie :)

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee

"Mom, come look at me in my closet."

"I'm stuck, like Pooh in Rabbit's bunny hole, I can't come right now." - Okay, so I wasn't really stuck, but I was reading blogs, totally comfy on the couch, cuddled up under a blanket.

"Come get Mom unstuck!" - Jamie said that, he's home today. :)

So, Sophia comes running out and explains in her own special Sophia way how she was trapezeing in her closet. "You were what?!?!" "Well, I was on my stool, and then I looked up and I thought it would be a good idea to trapeze! And it was FFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!! And it was safe! It was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"What did you trapeze on?" - again, coming from Dad.

"From the thing that the hangers hang on, and it was safe! and it was fun!"

Ruthie :)

Fact or Fiction

So, Jamie had thrown some dirty clothes in the washer sometime yesterday (I think, could've been the day before... don't judge us, okay! :) ), and I went down to switch it today. Well, let's just say that on the off chance an unused pull-up had found it's way into the hamper and than was missed upon dirty clothes entering washer... let's just say it made quite the mess! Little clearish absorbant, slimy ball clumps - EVERYWHERE! Good thing none of that actually happened! - or did it? :)

Ruthie :)

Celebrating with my family!!!

I've always loved my family. My parents may differ, but I don't remember ever going through a phase of being embarrassed by my parents or anything. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I had my 'moments,' :) but the point is, I love my parents and I always have. They are so genuine and generous and supportive. I'm so blessed. We were doubly blessed this New Year's because Jeni, my sister and David, her husband (and don't forget their cute pup, Molly) were there too! They are expecting their first baby - girl! - at the end of March.

We not only celebrated Christmas together, but we also celebrated Jeni's 31st bday and my parents' 35th anniversary!

My Dad got Jamie this amazing Jackson Pollack poster and built a frame for it himself. This is Jamie's favorite artist and we can't wait to hang it on our wall! Jeni and David also got us a beautiful wall haning, which has already found it's way above one of our sofas. Sophia was very glad to receive many games and puzzles and another Gigi movie and book (if you have a little girl- these are great!).

My favorite gift was a necklace set Mom and Dad got for me - more on that in another post. We also got to open up gifts from my Grandma, who lives in Illinois.

We welcomed in the New Year by watching... wait for it... The Terminator. Oh yes. Wonderdrous expenditure of time. :) It was my first time... and well, yup. :) Pretty sure it'll be the last. Mom of course provided delicious food and there was plenty of laughter and telling of stories.

Jamie and I had such a great time hanging out at my parent's house and didn't want to leave! It's always so encouraging and refreshing to be there and always so hard to get in the car and leave. We love our home in Ashland, but there's just something about being with family in the house you grew up in.

Thanks for such a wonderful time Mom, Dad, Jeni and David. We love you!!!

An Abrusci Sort of Celebration

These two posts about Christmas with our parents and my sister and brother-in-law are dedicated to them all! Jamie and I feel so blessed to have such amazing family. They love us and support us and spoil us and bless us beyond comprehension and we are so thankful for them.

Over New Year's week we were able to drive up to spend a couple days/nights with each set of parents. It always feels good to be in their homes and our time with them is always well spent!
Jamie's Mom and Dad are excellent hosts! We know we'll always get to relax a lot with them and they are low-key and not too worried about time... which is how we are, so that is always so refreshing. Sophia adores being at her Grandma Susie's and Papa's and loves cuddling their dogs, JJ and Jessie, and especially loves feeding them their carrots (their on diets)!

When we got their we were of course greeted with their beautiful tree and stockings hung from their chimney with all our names embroidered on them. Sue, Jamie's mom, is an excellent embroiderist (is that a word?) and made all the stockings. She made each of us an embroided hoodie sweatshirt too - even Riley! They have the Edge Corps logo on them, which is the branch of Navigators we're working towards ministering with. I can see a matchy-matchy prayer card picture coming... :)

She also made these adorable frames, one for Soph and one for Riley, to hang over their beds. Their pictures and names are on them, with all sorts of cute embellishments.
My favorite gift was the necklace with two teeny rings hung on it. One ring has Soph's birthstone, and one has Riley's. I also loved the shoes Riley got - that used to be Jamie's!

We watched some movies, ate out at Carrabas - yum!- and even got to relax in front of a cozy, roaring fire! Thanks Mom and Dad for a great time and special memories! We love you!

The Winners Are...

Well, since only 3 people commented on my caption contest... and all three captions were cute - they all win! So, congrats Jeni, David and Mom! :) Thank you for playing along. You all are about to recieve some delicious hommade granola and chocolate chip banana muffins! Enjoy and love you all!

Ruthie :)

You're gonna want in on this!!!

Thank you Mom and sister for participating in the caption contest! Let's just say I've recently come across some really great recipes, and have been dreaming about some older yummy ones too... and let's just say, you're gonna want to get in on this contest cause I'm feeling like doing some baking and let's just say my baking's not too shabby and if you win you might get some proof... :) ... I'm just saying...

Ruthie :)

Captions anyone?

Here's a new challange! Can you think of a caption for either or both of these photos and leave them in a comment? I'll pick my favorites for each picture and post the winner on Friday night, sometime after the kids are asleep! If you post anonomously, make sure to sign your name so I know who you are! Thanks and have fun getting creative.

Ruthie :)

Just because he's cute!

In trying to get Riley to give me a good smile - I got these two faces! I think they're even better! :)

Ruthie :)

Can you guess...

What we're dealing with over here at our house???

He's only 4 months old!

Ruthie :)

A Year in Review

Happy New Year! Can you believe it's 2009? As each year passes on this side of the new millenium, my Mom always mentions how when she was a girl she'd imagine life in the 2000s like on the Jetsons! :) Not quite, but getting close.

I thought it'd be fun to do a pictoral review of this past year. I tried sharing some new shots and new memories that I haven't previously posted about. Some pictures may look familiar and some stories have already been told... but these are some of my favorite memories from each month of 2008. I limited myself to one shot per month, so of course I had to leave out a ton of great memories. Well, enjoy looking back with me... let's go backwards, just for fun. :)

DECEMBER

Rachel is one of our friends we met at Ashland University. She was one of our first International Student friends. She was the first to tutor us in Mandarin and she, Soph and I all share a great birthday month - November! Rachel graduated this past May and at the end of the summer moved away from Ashland. She's been living in Chicago with family in Chicago looking for a job. If that doesn't pan out soon she'll be moving back home to Taiwan. Anyways... last month she made a quick trip to Ashland and we were delighted to spend an afternoon with her! We were so excited to introduce Riley to her and catch up on all her news. We miss her so much!

NOVEMBER
Of course Sophia turned 4 in November, and I took another step closer to 30... but another really unique and special time took place! Above you see me pictured with my two oldest friends, Amy and April. We grew up in Africa together and since moving back to the states have only been together 4 other times, making this the 5th! We are all married now, with kids, so this marks the first get-together with all husbands and children present too! It was such a sweet and special time. I love these two ladies with all my heart and feel as though I get a glimpse of the sweet fellowship we'll get in heaven when I'm with them.